Proud Lampard loses on Chelsea return

Chelsea dumped Frank Lampard's Derby out of the League Cup on Wednesday despite a valiant effort by the Championship side to battle back from a defensive Halloween horror show.

Maurizio Sarri's much-changed side eventually emerged 3-2 winners, with all five goals coming in a helter-skelter first half, on a night when there were also fourth-round victories for Arsenal, Tottenham and Middlesbrough.

Two astonishing early defensive errors at Stamford Bridge from Fikayo Tomori -- on loan from Chelsea -- and Richard Keogh either side of a Jack Marriott equaliser gave the home side a 2-1 lead.

Undaunted, Lampard's side levelled shortly before the half-hour through Martyn Waghorn before Cesc Fabregas restored order for the Premier League high-flyers.

Lampard, one of Chelsea's greatest-ever players, received a rapturous reception on his first return to Stamford Bridge as a manager, soaking up the atmosphere before kick-off.

"I'm so thankful to the Chelsea fans. They know how I feel about them," Lampard, the club's all-time top scorer, told Sky Sports. "I sort of slipped out the back door when I left. That upset me a bit at the time, but it doesn't matter now. I've got nothing but great memories and to come back here and be treated like that, I'm a lucky man."

Buoyed by his side's win at Old Trafford against his former boss Jose Mourinho in the previous round, he was dismayed to witness the errors from his side.

Timori sliced into his own net in the fifth minute, miscuing a clearance when attempting to deal with an innocuous-looking Davide Zappacosta cross. Midway through the half, lightning struck twice when Keogh failed to deal with another Zappacosta delivery, haplessly steering the ball into his own net.

But the visitors played a full role in a frantic first half, looking sharp as they came forward and were back on level terms before Fabregas scored what turned out to be the decisive goal.

"I'm proud. I'm not upset at all. I saw that performance and it just makes me happy," Lampard said. "Talking to the Chelsea players and their staff on the pitch, they were saying how good the way we were playing was. You know I respect this club but I'm proud of the Derby County players."