“It didn’t affect me”: Frank Lampard insists he is “not surprised” by Jose Mourinho’s claim that “some of the Chelsea players are diving while the Tottenham manager defended Harry Kane as he scored a penalty against Brighton last weekend.”
- Harry Kane was criticized in some quarters after winning a penalty kick at the end of last week
- Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho vigorously defended his player in the aftermath
- Mourinho also noted that players from other teams are more likely to dive
- Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said he was not upset by the comments
Frank Lampard says he is “not surprised” by Jose Mourinho’s reference to “some Chelsea players” who are fooling the referees in order to win the penalties this week.
Tottenham manager Mourinho was speaking in defense of superstar Harry Kane, after he won a controversial penalty kick against Brighton in a 2–1 win last weekend.
But Chelsea coach Lampard, who had already got into an argument with his former Portuguese coach during a UEFA Cup match in September, defended his players and insisted the criticism “did not affect him.”
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard insists he is not influenced by Jose Mourinho’s comments this week
Tottenham manager Mourinho defended Harry Kane after he won a penalty kick against Brighton
Lampard was responding after Mourinho’s statements: Ken? I think you are confused.
You could talk about some Manchester United players, some Manchester City players, some Liverpool players, and some Chelsea players.
However, the Chelsea manager said ahead of Saturday’s Sheffield United game: “I was not surprised by these comments.
Lampard says he was “not surprised” by Mourinho’s saying, “Some of the Chelsea players have dived.”
“There have been no diving accidents at Chelsea this season as I’ve seen them.
But I wasn’t surprised by that, no. I think it’s very natural for coaches in and around clubs sometimes to remind others of these statements. It didn’t affect me.
I will not tell Jose or any other manager how to hold a press conference.
I think we all know when we watch these penalty decisions, we know what the penalties are, what the dives are, the ones bought smartly. I don’t want to dwell on it.
Timo Werner took charge of the penalty shootout and scored two goals on Wednesday
In fact, Chelsea have already had eight penalties this season, but Lampard was adamant none were due to the dive.
The Chelsea manager switched the penalty shootout status last week, with summer signing Timo Werner to succeed Jorginho after the midfielder missed two goals in a row.
The German striker converted two penalties in favor of Chelsea in Wednesday’s 3–0 win over Rennes in the Champions League.
