• Premier League

I thought Lampard was going to New York - Mourinho

Jose Mourinho says he "was not expecting" to see Frank Lampard in a Manchester City shirt after leaving Chelsea but that he respects the player's decision to go on loan at the Etihad.

The midfielder left Stamford Bridge in the summer after 13 seasons to join New York City and promptly signed a loan deal with Manchester City, who have a connection with the MLS side.

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Lampard's move upset some Chelsea fans, who accused him of betrayal after he had said he could not see himself playing for another Premier League club.

But the former England international is optimistic of a good reception from supporters when the two teams meet in Manchester on Saturday. Mourinho, if he felt slighted at all, was not saying so explicitly.

"It's football," Mourinho said. "If you'd said that four or five years ago, I would have said it was strange. Even a few months ago, when he signed for the New York team, I was not expecting this. But it was his decision.

"When he left for New York, I thought he was going there. But it's his life, his decision, and he has my respect for that."

Lampard may start for City against Chelsea on Sunday as Manuel Pellegrini seeks to overturn a poor league record against Mourinho with the Portuguese's side doing the double over the last season's champions.

City have been in stuttering form so far this campaign but Mourinho says that doesn't make it a particularly good time to play them.

"It's always a good time to play the big teams," he said. "Against the big teams, my job is easier. I don't need to motivate people or ask them to be focused. The big teams make my work easier.

"Last season is last season. Statistics are statistics. They belong to history. What happened last year bears no relation to this season. Can we go there and win like we did last season? Obviously we can. But can we lose? Also, we can.

"It's one more game, it's three more points. But obviously, when matches are between title contenders, every point makes a difference. Arsenal v City, one point each, means nobody got three.

"These matches, in the end, can be important [but] if you analyse just in a simple and pragmatic point of view, it's one game and three points. No more than that."

"We don't play against them. We play against 19 teams and, for the title, it's not just City. There are other teams in this race. It's not a situation of Chelsea or City, City or Chelsea. Other clubs have the same ambition.

"Last season we had the experience to win and lose there, so we know what that's like. I went through those matches to try and identify the differences between one game and the other - I didn't do it with the players - and that might help to explain why we were so strong in one game and not in the other."

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