Lampard Breaks Records as Everton Suffers Heavy Defeat Against Crystal Palace

The FA Cup tie between Everton and Crystal Palace was one with huge significance. It was an opportunity for Chelsea Legend, Frank Lampard and Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira to move their team a step to Wembley – with the two having won the trophy as a player.

Palace won the game by 4-0 which implied that the Everton boss have lost four away games; the first ever big loss against a top flight team.

Reacting to the loss Lampard said:

“Average. Average performance. Average cup tie in that we allowed them to win 4-0 when the way we played it should never have been a 4-0.

“We allowed goals to go in, we allowed our heads to go down, 4000 fans travelled down to watch the game.

“We started really well for 20 minutes and we controlled the game. The first or second time they got out of their half they score. Players heads go down and then the second goal we’re a little bit off and they score. The third goal’s an absolute fluke, ‘oh they’ve scored again’ and that’s in-game character.

“We didn’t show enough. It’s the quarter-final, we didn’t show enough.

“It was a theme before I got here. We’d won one in 14 games before I got here. It’s more than a theme, it’s character.

Meanwhile, Palace win against Everton was nothing more than an extension of form – which had also saw them drew with league leaders Manchester City. Speaking after the game, Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira heaped praises on his side’s ‘fantastic performance’:

“It is a really good win for the football club. We get on well as a team and we went through difficult times in the game, especially the first 15 or 20 minutes. But we didn’t concede; when we scored first, we started to believe more and managed to win the game.

“The crucial point was the first 15 minutes because they were on top of us; they had momentum. We showed maturity because we went longer and played for the second ball. It got us into the game but going into the second period not conceding was quite good for us.

“Going to Wembley is fantastic. You can hear the atmosphere in the stadium, the fans; this is what they wanted and we wanted to give it to them. They’ve been fantastic in getting behind the team. It is just a step forward; there is a long way to go. This is an exciting period for us, we will enjoy it and we will enjoy today.”

Lampard replaced the sacked Rafa Benitez as the head coach of Everton after a run of poor results; with the loss against Norwich being the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

Despite many expectations since his (Lampard’s) appointment, Everton players are struggling to adopt to his game style. The Chelsea legend, having exited the FA Cup will turn now attention and focused on earning Everton a place in the top flight.