Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has warned his players against complacency after they were drawn to face Man Utd in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
The Red Devils toiled in midweek as they eventually overcame Rochdale on penalties at Old Trafford, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side continuing to struggle to fully convince this season.
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After their opening-weekend 4-0 win over Chelsea in the Premier League, United have picked up just five points in five games, while their struggles on Wednesday night will be another cause for concern for Solskjaer.
Lampard though isn’t prepared to underestimate Man Utd as he expects them to name a strong side when they face each other next month and has warned his players that they will have to be at their best to prevail and advance to the next round.
“I think a lot can happen in football in a short time. The next round is not coming tomorrow. We have to respect the fact they have good players,” he told Sky Sports. “They beat us 4-0… so I’m certainly not going to stand here and talk Man United down.
“It’s going to be a tough game, and the beauty of what we did on Wednesday night was make the game look pretty easy.
“But these games can be tough and I’d rather, from a distance and having not watched the game, give Rochdale credit for taking them all the way. Man United will bring a strong team here.”
In contrast, Chelsea made it look easy this week as they secured a 7-1 win over Grimsby Town at Stamford Bridge, despite the fact that Lampard made countless changes to his starting line-up to give his youngsters a chance to impress.
It remains to be seen if he sticks with that or brings in a few more senior players for the showdown with United, as ultimately he’ll be desperate to land silverware in his first season in charge at Chelsea and with some notable exits in the competition already coupled with some other interesting ties, both managers will surely take it seriously and put out strong sides.
Lampard is spot on though, in that a lot can change over the coming weeks as Solskjaer looks to find the solutions to get United winning and doing so in a convincing manner.
