Frank Lampard believes Coventry could have got something out of the game against Tottenham Hotspur had the referee not made an error in the second half.

While it was far from a perfect performance from Spurs, neither Roberto De Zerbi, the players, nor the fans will care, with all of them desperate to see the team get over the line and register a win.

In the end, an outstanding strike by James Maddison in his first start in 18 months, a first Tottenham goal for Omar Marmoush and a late Ben Davies strike ensured that the Lilywhites emerged comfortable winners.

However, the game was not completely without any controversy, with one of the home side’s goals coming under scrutiny.

Frank Lampard feels Tottenham’s second goal should have been chopped off

Marmoush opened his account in a Spurs shirt with a fine curled effort from outside the box after rolling Coventry City defender Milan van Ewijk.

"His first goal for the club is an absolute belter!" Omar Marmoush fires Spurs back in front with a rocket from range 💥 https://t.co/GPiX8PRKTz

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 19, 2026

The Egypt international was understandably ecstatic at scoring his first for the club, but the replays showed that his elbow had made contact with Van Ewijk’s face just before he unleashed his strike.

Lampard revealed he expected VAR to intervene and disallow the goal since Marmoush’s elbow was too high.

The Coventry boss said about Spurs’ second goal (via The Standard): “I did think that (VAR should have looked at it). I think if you roll and your elbows are that high and it connects with Milan in the contact it did, I thought VAR would cancel it. I did.

“You have to be really careful how you choose your words after this because there’s no point in getting after the event to get too deep into it. But I absolutely felt that.

“The little bits add up, the corner adds up, Brandon (Thomas-Asante) getting fouled trying to stay on his feet and then another little action, and you don’t get the advantage late into the game is a big deal for us. That’s all I’ll say about it.”

Lampard insists Coventry matched Spurs for the majority of the game

Despite suffering a 3-1 loss, Lampard was pleased with the performance that his side produced at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Chelsea legend insisted one could not have told from the performance who the established Premier League side were and who the newly promoted team were.

Lampard said about Coventry’s performance: “A really good display. 3-1 changes the view at the end of the game, but I thought at 2-1 we were really pushing. It takes them two outstanding and world-class goals to score their goals.

“(Tottenham) will get better and improve for sure, but when you think that eight of our starting players were in the Championship. You wouldn’t know which is the team that has been in the Premier League for the last 25 years and who has been out of it for 25 years.”