Pelle salutes amazing Frank

FRANK Lampard underlined his value to Manchester City with a dramatic winner for the champions against Sunderland.

Former England midfielder Lampard came off the bench at the Etihad Stadium to head the decisive goal in a remarkable 3–2 victory for City in the Barclays Premier League.

The result put City joint top of the table with Lampard’s former club Chelsea, beaten by Tottenham later.

It also emphasised the qualities New York City will have to wait longer to benefit from, coming less than a day after it was confirmed the 36–year–old’s expected move to Major League Soccer would be delayed.

Lampard is now set to stay with City until the end of the season after a controversial agreement was reached with the club’s sister outfit in the United States on New Year’s Eve.

Supporters of NYC have been enraged as the player has been used extensively in the American club’s marketing for their debut MLS season, which begins in March.

The nature of Lampard’s contract with City is still not clear. It was assumed he had been on loan in Manchester from NYC, but now it appears he was on a short–term, full–time contract with City with a view to moving to the American club after it expired on December 31. That agreement has now been extended until the end of City’s season.