Frank Lampard has made his feelings clear on Chelsea giving bitter rivals Liverpool guard of honour
Frank Lampard once made his feelings clear on giving a guard of honour, which Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has confirmed his side will do to recognise new champions Liverpool.
The Anfield side wrapped up the Premier League crown in Arne Slot's first campaign in charge of the Merseyside outfit with a 5-1 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.
Liverpool won the title with four games to spare and very often, as a mark of respect, opposition teams who face the newly crowned champions will form a guard of honour to congratulate the team in question and applaud them onto the pitch.
Liverpool travel to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea on Sunday afternoon and Blues boss Maresca has confirmed his side will give the Anfield outfit a guard of honour to ensure the tradition is upheld.
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Maresca said: "Yes. It’s tradition. We have to do that, and we are going to do that.
"They won the Premier League, so they deserve it.
"In terms of the gap [between Chelsea and Liverpool], it is there, you can see this clearly. My feeling is we are [moving] in the right direction and hopefully this gap can be smaller and smaller and smaller.
"The difference is they have been consistent compared to us. For part of the season, we were very good, then we lost some games.
"This has probably been the main reason why. And also in terms of experienced players that know how to win games and these kinds of things, I think they have something more compared to us."
There have been plenty of high-profile instances over the years of newly crowned champions being applauded onto the pitch by rivals.
Manchester United gave Chelsea a guard of honour at Old Trafford in 2005 and the Blues did the same for United when Sir Alex Ferguson's side reclaimed the title in 2007.
Arsenal gave United a guard of honour in 2013, applauding former captain Robin van Persie at the Emirates Stadium after the Red Devils had won their 20th league crown.
Lampard was caretaker boss of Chelsea in 2023 and ensured his side gave a guard of honour to then-champions Manchester City on the final day of the season.
He made it clear at the time he had no issue with clubs giving each other a guard of honour having received it as a player himself, even if there has been some needle between teams in the past.
Lampard said: "The only inspiration should be what it’s taken City to get where they are.
"The trophy lift is something to be respectful of. Understanding why they are lifting it is another.
"I remember getting that [a guard of honour] as a player, and it was something that was very respectful, so I have no problem with that at all."
Topics: Chelsea, Liverpool, Frank Lampard, Enzo Maresca
John McDougall