Once the closest of allies but, in the heat of the moment, rival, sniping managers.
With the traffic largely one way and heading towards Tottenham’s goal, a touchline spat between Jose Mourinho and Frank Lampard was one of the main first-half talking points.
Not long after Timo Werner’s first Chelsea goal, a war of words broke out on the sidelines.
A touchline spat between Jose Mourinho and Frank Lampard erupted on Tuesday evening
Their war of words broke out after Chelsea had gone ahead against Tottenham in Carabao Cup
One by-product of the empty stadiums is the exchanges between players, managers and officials now being much easier to pick up.
‘F****** hell Frank, when you’re losing 3-0 you’re not standing up here,’ Mourinho said, in one of the most cutting verbal blows.
Mourinho also indicated Lampard was talking too much as tempers flared. The Chelsea manager bit back but, in the main, smiled it off.
He could do with his side well in control of proceedings at the time, unlike on Saturday at West Brom when they were 3-0 down and being humiliated at the Hawthorns before a second-half fightback, the game Mourinho referred to.
Lampard’s Mourinho spat brought back memories of his X-rated clash with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp at Anfield towards the end of last season.
What is clear from both is that as he carves out his own managerial career Lampard will be no pushover.
Mourinho also indicated to the officials that Lampard was talking too much as tempers flared
The Chelsea manager bit back but, in the main, smiled it off as he clashed with his former boss
Some of his players such as Antonio Rudiger and Marcos Alonso, both omitted after getting on the wrong side of Lampard, will vouch for that. So too will Mourinho now as well as Klopp.
Tuesday night was the latest evidence of Lampard’s determination to stand his ground against anyone, regardless of how glittering their CV is, experienced they are or even how central a figure they have been to his career. Lampard owes much of his success as a player to Mourinho.
In one of their first conversations following Mourinho’s 2004 appointment as Chelsea manager he famously approached a naked Lampard in the shower and told him he was the best player in the world.
He wasn’t at the time but developed into one of them under Mourinho, becoming one of his most loyal soldiers during the Special One’s trophy-laden first spell in charge at Stamford Bridge.
But after Lampard scored against Chelsea in 2014, having quit Mourinho’s Chelsea and ended up at rivals Manchester City, the latter declared ‘the love story is over.’
It comes after Lampard got into a spat with Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool’s coaches in July
Those good times the pair once shared looked like they counted for little again when they locked horns for those tense few seconds at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday night.
When all was said and done, though, what really mattered was who did their talking on the pitch.
And there might have been an element of added satisfaction for master Mourinho when Mason Mount missed the crucial penalty to ensure he had the last word, outwitting pupil Lampard for the first time in four attempts.
Just before the shootout, peace had broken out, the pair exchanging a handshake and they were firmly friends reunited by full-time.
Mourinho said: ‘With Frank the most important thing is my feelings to him are more important than any words that we exchange. My feelings to him are I will always owe him everything that he gave me.
Lampard (right) criticised Jurgen Klopp’s (left) staff of over arrogance after winning the title
‘He gave me everything he had as a player and I never forget that so my feelings towards him will be always feelings of how much I owe him for such an incredible player, friend and professional that he was.
‘The only thing I was telling him was an opinion, just an opinion from an old coach to a young talented coach which was when the players need us is when they are losing.
‘When they are winning we don’t need to be the protagonists of the touchline. We need to be there when they are losing and the last match when they were losing 3-0 I felt sorry for him because he was really sad and quiet in his chair. In terms of football I have nothing to teach him. He knows football up and down and is a fantastic coach. It is just an opinion. Stay on the touchline when your team is losing and stay calm when your team is winning.’
Lampard said: ‘We were having some fun on the line. I get on well with Jose and I think he said that to me. I commented on the fact he seemed to speak to the referee more than he was speaking to his players. It’s just a moment with us.
‘I’ve got a huge amount of respect for Jose no matter what we say on the touchline. I think he probably was feeling the sense of the first half and how it was but all was very well at the end of the game. That will never change.’
But Lampard has shown again that he will not stand down against Mourinho or anyone else
