Frank Lampard Blasts VAR Decisions in Man Utd Loss & Insists Chelsea's Season Starts Now

​Chelsea manager Frank Lampard has revealed his disappointment at the impact of VAR during his side's 2-0 loss to Manchester United on Monday.

United captain Harry Maguire was perhaps fortunate to escape an early red card for kicking out at Michy Batshuayi, and the defender then went on to score the second goal of the game. 

Before that, Chelsea also had a goal controversially ruled out through Kurt Zouma after there was ruled to be a foul in the build-up.

It was certainly a frustrating evening for ​Chelsea, who later had another goal correctly chalked off for offside, and Lampard admitted (via the ​Evening Standard) that he was more than a little frustrated by the whole game.

​Harry Maguire should’ve got a red – then he scores the second goal and the game changes off that," he said. “That’s a major part of what VAR was brought in for. That one was wrong.


“I didn’t have a dialogue [with the fourth official] – I hadn’t seen it, so there was nothing to say. It was just the wrong decision. It’s harder to take with the presence of VAR. That’s the reason it was brought in for, love it or hate it.

“It was universally the wrong decision. It’s not my opinion. Everyone I’ve spoken to says the same thing.”

On Zouma's late goal, Lampard also added: “I think Zouma’s goal should have stood. At first I didn’t. It’s certainly not clear and obvious.”


Nevertheless, Lampard insisted (via the ​Daily Mail) that Chelsea's real season starts now. Defeat against ​United has seen the Blues fall into a real battle for ​Champions League qualification, and Saturday's meeting with ​Tottenham Hotspur looks to be about as important as they come.

Frank Lampard

"We're in fourth place by one point, so the season starts here and we need to fight to get fourth place," said Lampard. "We're fourth and it's still in our hands. I don't think many people would have put us in fourth place at this point in the season, so the fight starts now.

"Every week we look at the stats and it's very clear we make as many chances as anyone else bar ​Liverpool. I don't want to talk about regrets, the window is past now."


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Source : 90min