Frank Lampard has moved to put his ‘spygate’ spat with Marcelo Bielsa to bed ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Leeds at Stamford Bridge.
Lampard and Bielsa will face off for the first time since the 2019 Championship play-offs, when Lampard’s Derby came from behind and beat Leeds 4-3 at the end of a turbulent campaign.
Bielsa sent an intern to spy on Lampard’s Derby in training in January 2019, with the Argentinian later paying an EFL fine of £200,000.
Lampard insisted he would rather quit than emulate Bielsa’s subterfuge, with the Leeds boss eventually accepting such practices are not acceptable in the English game.
“All I can say from my point of view, in that forward area I have competition for places.
“Tammy Abraham has been been playing very well for us this season, scoring goals and making assists.
“He brings attributes, Olivier as he showed the other night brings his attributes, so that’s great competition for me.
“I can’t give assurances, and you’d have to ask Oli. I never see anything negative from Oli, and I’ve got huge respect for him.
“And playing the way he did the other night clearly he’s going to have opportunities, because that was just a top-class performance all-round.”
