Lampard's Coventry smash Rooney's Plymouth in legends' 1st managerial duel

Coventry City thumped Plymouth Argyle 4-0 on Boxing Day in the first meeting of former club rivals and England teammates Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney as managers.

A Josh Eccles brace and a goal apiece for Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Ephron Mason-Clark helped Coventry rise to 14th in the Championship table. The Sky Blues were 17th, and two points above the relegation places, when Lampard succeeded popular coach Mark Robins at the helm near the end of November.

Meanwhile, Rooney's Plymouth are bottom of England's second tier and have taken only three points from the last 24 on offer following their heavy defeat in the East Midlands. The next two-and-a-half weeks could be crucial to their survival bid, with two matches against Oxford United and a trip to Stoke City -teams positioned just above the drop zone - crammed into a tight run of five matches.

Lampard and Rooney are trying to rebuild their managerial careers, which both started at Derby County. Lampard led the Rams to the Championship playoff final in 2019, and Rooney drew plaudits while he battled admirably against a 21-point deduction before the troubled club's somewhat inevitable descent to League One in 2022.

The Chelsea and Manchester United legends have been less successful since.

Lampard's tactics were often criticized during his spells in charge of Chelsea and Everton. After twice failing to guide D.C. United to the MLS postseason, Rooney took over Birmingham City - who were sixth in the Championship - in October 2023 and suffered nine defeats in a 15-game tenure before he was sacked last January. The Blues were relegated at the end of the 2023-24 season.