'He showed us what he's there for' - Lampard praises 'very good' Mendy after crucial Rashford saves earn Chelsea point

Edouard Mendy came up with two huge saves to deny Marcus Rashford and Manchester United on Saturday, earning him the praise of Chelsea boss Frank Lampard. 

After a week in which Rashford hit the headlines for his work off the pitch, the United striker was in the thick of things at Old Trafford during the Premier League clash. 

The youngster had two glittering chances to take victory for the Reds but each time Mendy was up to the task, stopping Rashford when he was clear on goal before flying through the air to turn a shot that looked destined for the net over his own bar. 

United and Chelsea ultimately settled for a 0-0 draw, and after so many defensive and goalkeeping headaches Lampard was delighted to see Mendy take the plaudits. 

"His performance was very good. You rely on your goalkeepers in those moments in a tight game, not full of many chances," the manager explained to reporters after the final whistle. 

"Rashford's first chance was a mistake from us, the one at the end was a moment of quality from him. He showed us what he is there for.

"We brought him in for his quality. He showed great composure in the games he's played already and with the saves today in a tight you rely on them moments."

Aside from Rashford's chances, one of the few other talking points in a prosaic clash came when Harry Maguire felled Cesar Azpilicueta in the penalty area. 

VAR was consulted and declined to give a spot-kick, which for Lampard was the wrong decision. 

"It was a clear penalty. Clear penalty. I didn't see it from where I was standing at the time and I know it's a hard call for the referee on the pitch but that's why we brought VAR into the game," he added.

"VAR was very quick to dismiss it in my opinion. It should take time, the referee should watch the monitor. If he watches the monitor he has to give a penalty. It's very confusing in my opinion.

"Should referees consult monitor more frequently? I'm not sure. There's a frustration at the fact when something moves seemingly in the right direction, we're all pretty happy with referees going to the monitor.

"It happened a bit more at the start of the season. The players on the pitch should always say it and the referee should always take responsibility. We have that back to the referee with the monitor but for some reason we've come off that. I don't understand it.

"It was an easy decision, not a difficult one for the VAR to give anyway but the referee on the pitch should make the main call. Ask him to review it and if that happened today it would have been a penalty."