Frank Lampard has played down his touchline row with Jose Mourinho, saying the two were only ‘having fun’ and he has ‘huge respect’ for the Tottenham manager.
The Portuguese coach got the better of Lampard, as Spurs beat their London rivals on penalties to progress to the next stage of the Carabao Cup.
However, it didn’t begin as a happy reunion as the duo were involved in a heated exchange on the sidelines, with Mourinho seemingly frustrated with the Chelsea head coach continually leaving his technical area.
Mourinho reportedly yelled, ‘f*****g hell Frank, when you’re losing 3-0 you’re not standing up here,’ in reference to Chelsea’s last match in which they went 3-0 down at half-time against West Brom.
But, speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Lampard quickly cleared up the situation and said there was no animosity from his end.
He said: ‘We were having some fun, I get on well with Jose. I was saying he speaks to the referee more than his players, I have huge respect for Jose. ‘All was well at the end and that will never change.’
Jose Mourinho also played down the situation and said his opposite number is a ‘fantastic coach’.
‘We don’t need to be the protagonist of the touchline. When they were losing the last match 3-0 [against West Brom] I was sad for him because he was down & quiet. I don’t need to tell him anything because he is a fantastic coach.
Mourinho got the better of Lampard on the pitch, as Tottenham won on penalties with Mount missing Chelsea’s final penalty.
The game started well for Chelsea, with Timo Werner opening his account for the club after his move from RB Leipzig and putting his team 1-0 up.
Spurs improved after the break, and finally got their goal in the 83rd minute through Erik Lamela, as the game went straight to penalties.
