Chelsea 3-2Derby
EFL Cup 2018-19
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Frank Lampard was beaten on his return to Stamford Bridge as his Derby side went down 3-2 in a thrilling Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Chelsea.
Chelsea's record goalscorer Lampard, who is now the Rams manager, was given a good ovation before kick-off but another returning Blue made a poor start as the hosts took an early lead.
Fikayo Tomori, who is on loan from Chelsea, turned into his own net when he mishit a clearance after five minutes. Jack Marriott, who scored against Manchester United in the last round, responded with a quickfire equaliser but Chelsea reclaimed the lead with another own goal, this time from Richard Keogh.
Martyn Waghorn made up for an earlier miss by levelling for a second time but Cesc Fabregas swept Chelsea back ahead before the break. Derby rallied in the second half, and hit the post through David Nugent late on, but Chelsea held on.
Follow the reaction with Standard Sport's LIVE blog!
Can't see the blog? Click here for the desktop version.
Team news
Chelsea XI: Caballero, Zappacosta, Cahill, Christensen, Emerson Palmieri, Kante, Fabregas, Kovacic, Willian, Morata, Loftus-Cheek
Subs: Drinkwater, Barkley, Pedro, Hudson-Odoi, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Bulka
Derby XI: Carson, Bogle, Keogh, Tomori, Malone, Mount, Huddlestone, Wilson, Waghorn, Marriott, Lawrence
Subs: Forsyth, Johnson, Bennett, Roos, Holmes, Nugent, Davies
Referee: Jonathan Moss (County Durham)
Read More
Frank Lampard receives some warm applause from the home fans and returns the favour, before embracing former team-mate Carlo Cudicini, who is on the Chelsea coaching staff.
The players gather round the centre circle and we'll now have a minute of applause in memory of Leicester owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and the four other victims in the tragic helicopter crash in Leicester before kick-off.
Photo: AFP
Will Derby cause a fright?
Chelsea will be sure-fire favourites to win this fourth round EFL Cup tie tonight but if anyone knows how the smaller teams can cause an upset, it's Maurizio Sarri.
The Italian coach spent 15 years coaching the amateur and semi-professional leagues in Italy before stepping up to the big-time with Empoli and then Napoli.
Photo: Getty
Perhaps that's why the 59-year-old is keen to avoid a horror show against Derby County tonight with a strong side being put out at Stamford Bridge.
Derby caused the biggest upset of the last round when they went to Manchester United and won on penalties. Yes, it took a shootout to do so, but it also required a stoppage-time equaliser from Marouane Fellaini just to give United the lifeline in the first place.
With the creative talents of Mason Mount and Harry Wilson, and instinctive finishing from Jack Marriott, Derby have every chance of progressing.
The gloves and snoods are out!
It's a cold night in west London and Chelsea are being put through their paces in an attempt to get warm. It's officially winter now, at least according to the players' attire this evening...
Mason Mount has been speaking about his return to Stamford Bridge to Derby's official channel RamsTV.
On returning to Chelsea:
"I've been here since I was six years old but my focus has to be away from that. I'm a Derby player and I'm playing for Derby at the moment so my focus is winning this game. It's definitely got a weird feeling to it but we want to come here and win.
On the prospect of facing his parent club:
"No I didn't. As soon as the fixture came up I didn't think I'd be able to be involved, so to be able to play is an unbelievable feeling, and to be on this pitch and play in front of all these fans.
"It's a game we need to try and win and I think we can win if we play the right stuff. I think we've got an upset in us if we play the right football and we showed that [against Manchester United] so I think we need to just come here and do that again.
"It's going to be a tough, tough game, we know that, but we're ready for it.
How good are Chelsea?
"They're a strong side, I think we can see that. Week in, week out they're doing well and we know how well they're playing. But we're a good side too and we're playing good football at the moment. You never know what can happen in these cup games.
Morata, Loftus-Cheek keep their places; Derby unchanged
Maurizio Sarri is taking no chances as he names a strong Chelsea starting XI against Derby County tonight.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek retains his place in the side after scoring four goals in his last two games and lines up alongside Alvaro Morata, who starts his third match in a row for the Blues.
Photo: Getty
Teenager Callum Hudson-Odoi makes the bench, as does Danny Drinkwater, who has been frozen out of the first-team under Sarri.
For former blue Frank Lampard, it's business as usual as he names an unchanged side from the team that drew 1-1 with Middlesbrough at the weekend.
After being granted permission to play against their parent club, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori are included in the starting line-up.
Chelsea team news
Starting XI: Caballero; Zappacosta, Christensen, Cahill (c), Emerson; Kante, Fabregas, Kovacic; Willian, Morata, Loftus-Cheek
Subs: Bulka, Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Drinkwater, Barkley, Hudson-Odoi, Pedro
Derby County team news
Starting XI: Carson; Tomori, Keogh (c), Bogle, Malone; Huddlestone, Mount, Wilson; Lawrence, Marriott, Waghorn
Subs: Roos, Forsyth, Johnson, Bennett, Holmes, Nugent, Davies
And here comes Lampard now!
Clearly, he's well remembered by some of the ground staff here as they go in for a hug.
The Chelsea boys return
Tonight marks the return of Stamford Bridge darling Frank Lampard for the first time as manager, as he brings his Derby County squad to west London after knocking out Manchester United in the previous round.
Photo: Getty
Having received permission to field Chelsea loanees Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori, how will the young pair get on in front of their parent club?
We'll find out soooooooon enough (sorry for the Halloween pun), with team news coming in around 20 minutes.
Good evening and welcome to Standard Sport's live coverage of Chelsea vs Derby County, with a place in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup up for grabs.