Lampard scores against old club to rescue a point for Man City

Sport360 staff 21:28 21/09/2014
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Party pooper: Frank Lampard doesn't celebrate after scoring City's equaliser.

    Chelsea's record goalscorer Frank Lampard repaid the adulation of the visiting fans who cheered his arrival as a Manchester City substitute by scoring a late equaliser for his new club. The 36-year-old, on loan from City's Major League Soccer venture in New York, rescued a point for the hosts five minutes from time after an afternoon of much frustration.

    Lampard scored 211 times in 648 appearances for the Stamford Bridge side so it was no surprise when his 78th-minute appearance off the bench was cheered to the rafters by the away supporters, already jubilant after Andre Schurrle's goal following Pablo Zabaleta's red card.

    However, it was City fans who raised the roof when the former England midfielder rammed home man of the match James Milner's pass, although he predictably refused to celebrate. His goal ended the Premier League leaders' 100 per cent record, but as Chelsea had arrived at the Etihad Stadium with a game plan not to lose it was probably, on balance, the most they deserved.

    Having conceded a vast amount of territory and possession for over an hour, the dismissal of Zabaleta was the signal for Jose Mourinho's side to seize their chance and substitute Schurrle did exactly that with 19 minutes left. But Lampard's intervention ensured the gap to Chelsea at the top remained at five.

    Had it been eight there would have been critics writing off their challenge already.

    Here are the managers reactions to the result:

    Elsewhere, Yannick Bolasie inspired another smash-and-grab raid on Goodison Park as Crystal Palace came from behind to cling on for their first win of the season. The Congo winger was instrumental in side's surging second-half performance which he capped with the Eagles' final goal in the 69th minute to secure a 3-2 victory.

    Romelu Lukaku had given Everton a ninth-minute lead, but Mile Jedinak equalised from the spot and Fraizer Campbell took advantage of an error by Tim Howard to change the course of the game.

    Bolasie's heroics sealed another fine day for Palace in the blue half of Merseyside after a 3-2 win in April eased relegation fears – despite a nervous finale after Leighton Baines' late penalty reduced the deficit.

    Lukaku and Phil Jagielka both came close in a frantic finale but the final whistle brought a juddering halt to the hosts' recent revival and left them stuck on five points from as many Barclays Premier League games.

    Recommended