Frank Lampard was caught up in a heated confrontation with Jurgen Klopp and Pepijn Lijnders at Anfield, much to the amusement of the Liverpool bench watching on.
The Reds’ final home game of the season was one of the most entertaining, with eight goals and eight different goalscorers as the champions emerged victors.
Naby Keita, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Gini Wijnaldum, Roberto Firmino and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were the scorers for Liverpool, in a game that saw them largely sacrifice their stability for all-out attack.
Chelsea took a physical approach to the game, but there were question marks over whether Mateo Kovacic had fouled Sadio Mane for the free-kick that led to Alexander-Arnold’s goal.
Lampard was certainly of the belief that he hadn’t, though there were a number of dubious challenges on the No. 10 in the buildup, and the Chelsea manager took exception to Lijnders’ protests.
In a video captured from the stands, behind the Liverpool bench, Lampard can be seen sharing some choice words with Klopp and his assistant manager (Warning: NSFW).
Frank Lampard was not happy with Pep Lijnders. Probably explains why Pep ran into the pitch when the free-kick went in…pic.twitter.com/cJYBZsNk63
— Ste Hoare (@stehoare) July 23, 2020
The 42-year-old kept telling an animated Lijnders to sit down, with some industrial language making it clear how he felt.
“It’s not a fucking foul. I’m not asking you, so shut up,” Lampard told Lijnders, with Klopp intervening to explain that the Dutchman was already sat down.
Lampard then replied: “Fuck off you as well. Only title you’ve ever won and you’re fucking giving it the big’un. Fuck off.”
That prompted a chorus of ‘ooo’s from the Liverpool bench, with Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Milner sharing a laugh and Adrian telling the Chelsea boss to “calm down.”
It’s a strange interaction, especially as Lampard’s last words—”stop showing disrespect, sit down”, to which Klopp replied, “he’s been down for five minutes”—jarred with his comments in his post-match interview.
“For me, it wasn’t a foul from Kovacic, and there were a lot of things that weren’t going our way,” he told Sky Sports.
“But I’ve not got a problem with Jurgen Klopp. The way he’s managed this team has been fantastic.
“Fair play to Liverpool Football Club, they’ve won the league, but also don’t get too arrogant with it. That was my point, but it’s done. In match play, you can get emotional and that was it.”
It was pure arrogance from Lampard to act like that, though of course tensions were high with so much at stake for Chelsea, who could now miss out on a Champions League place on the final day.
Lijnders had the last laugh, of course, as he leapt back up to celebrate Alexander-Arnold’s stunning free-kick, before a trophy lift on the Kop.
