MY ACCOUNT
Frank Lampard acknowledged he allowed himself to get “caught up in the emotion” of Everton beating Brentford 4-1 in his first match in charge.
Lampard was appointed as Rafael Benitez’s successor on Monday, with Dele Alli and Donny van de Beek also arriving at Goodison Park.
And in stark contrast to the end of the ill-fated Benitez era, the positive momentum continued with an emphatic win in the FA Cup on Saturday, as Everton took their place in round five thanks to goals from Yerry Mina, Richarlison, Mason Holgate and Andros Townsend.
Albeit his new signings were not available, Lampard’s impact on Everton’s play was evident.
They had 55.77 per cent possession, a total they were only able to better twice under Benitez (both in defeats, to Brentford and Watford respectively), while on only six occasions this season have they played fewer long passes, with Lampard placing more of an emphasis on his defenders playing it into midfield.
Lampard will want an improvement on the 19 touches Everton had in Brentford’s box, though Everton’s duel success rate of 63.1 per cent (53/84) was their best in any game across all competitions this season, with the Toffees noticeably looking to engage higher up the pitch than they did under their former manager or interim boss Duncan Ferguson.
Everton also scored four goals in a game for the first time in 42 matches, since they did so in a 5-4 win over Tottenham in the fifth round of last season’s FA Cup.
“It’s been brilliant this week, very special,” Lampard told a news conference.
“It’s a day that I’ll never forget. It’s only the start in terms of my time here but I can’t help but get caught up in the emotion of the moment. The way the players approached the game meant that the fans bought into it straight away. It was a very special day for me.
“I want to be the best I can be, and if the fans can see it all well and good. They want to see their manager giving everything and that’s just how I work.
“I want to be there to support the players when they make passes or play through lines, or make tackles, covering distance.
“Those things are special and what we work towards. As a manager today I was proud of the performance and it did get me excited. Now I need to calm down and work towards the league games but we saw hopefully some nice signs that we can take forward.”
Lampard now faces two huge Premier League games, with a trip to Newcastle United coming up on Tuesday before a home match against Leeds United. Everton sit 16th with 19 points.
