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Associated Press
Ageless

Renaissance Man: 38-year-old Frank Lampard continues remarkable resurgence in New York

The former Chelsea midfielder has had well-documented problems since joining NYC FC.

FRANK LAMPARD HAS had a difficult relationship with Major League Soccer since joining New York City FC.

His arrival was delayed, as he went on an extended loan to Manchester City.

Despite having been unveiled as an MLS signing in the summer of 2014, he only made his debut in August 2015 – something which left 11,000 NYC FC season-ticket holders pretty angry as he missed four and a half months of the club’s debut campaign.

When he did manage to get on the pitch, things didn’t go very well and despite having David Villa and Andrea Pirlo as team-mates, the franchise finished 17th out of 20 teams and their boss, Jason Kreis, was sacked.

Meanwhile, Lampard managed just 10 appearances.

Changes came – the biggest being Patrick Vieira’s arrival as manager – but this season began badly for the club and Lampard. Injury meant he made his first appearance in late-May (the season starts in March) in a 7-0 humiliation at the hands of local rivals New York Red Bulls.

Major League Soccer / YouTube

But, it’s been a remarkable turnaround for Lampard and his employers.

In June, he scored his first goal of the season in a 3-2 win over Philadelphia and in the 12 games that have followed, Lampard has racked up 10 goals.

Last night, he conjured a brace against DC United with his second goal – the match-winner – coming in the 93rd-minute.

It leaves NYC FC sitting at the top of the Eastern Conference and are second only to FC Dallas in the overall standings with six games left in the regular season.

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