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Five returning legends haunt former clubs

Following Frank Lampard's goal against Chelsea, Sports Mole looks back on five other legends that have scored against their former clubs.

It just had to be Frank Lampard, didn't it? After 13 years of service for Chelsea, during which time he became the club's leading ever goalscorer, the midfielder scored an equaliser for his loanee club Manchester City against his former employers yesterday afternoon.

Despite scoring the goal that had denied their side all three points at the Etihad Stadium, the 36-year-old was still given a positive reception by the travelling faithful, who chanted his name throughout the game.

Here, Sports Mole has picked out five other players that have, like Lampard, returned to haunt the club where they have been granted legendary status.

1. Denis Law

The Scot scored 236 goals during an 11-year stint with Manchester United, but following a disagreement with manager Tommy Docherty in 1973, he joined Manchester City on a free transfer. A year later and with United on the verge of relegation, Law found the net against his old club with a back-heeled effort that he believed at the time had demoted the Red Devils. As it turned out, they would have been relegated anyway, regardless of the result.

2. Francis Lee

"Look at his face, just look at his face" bellowed the Match of the Day commentator as Derby County striker Lee rifled his shot into the top corner of the Man City net at Maine Road in 1974. The centre-forward may have helped the Citizens to win a handful of honours during his time with the club, but that did not stop him celebrating his winning goal.

3. Robbie Fowler

Only four players have scored more goals for Liverpool than Fowler, who left the club for Leeds United in 2001. Two years later he was a Man City player and would score a dramatic late equaliser against his boyhood club at the City of Manchester Stadium. It was a typical Fowler goal as he gambled on a wayward shot from Trevor Sinclair to beat Jerzy Dudek from close range.

4. Henrik Larsson

A hero among the green and white half of Glasgow, it was always going to be an emotional evening when Larsson returned to Parkhead with Barcelona in the Champions League in 2004. The Swede has since admitted that he wasn't keen to play in the game, but ever the professional, he lobbed David Marshall to help the Catalans record a 3-1 win. He didn't celebrate and later would say: "I thought the way I handled the moment was just right. Celtic gave me too much for me to throw it all back in their faces."

5. Cristiano Ronaldo

While with Man United, Ronaldo scored against Sporting Lisbon - the club where he had risen through the ranks. In 2013, fans of United were made to feel the same as their Portuguese counterparts. Playing for Real Madrid, Ronaldo had already scored against United in the Bernabeu when the two sides met in the last 16 of the Champions League. He was then given a hero's reception in the return leg at Old Trafford, where he would score the goal that dumped his former side out of the competition.

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Manchester City's English midfielder Frank Lampard acknowledges the crowd after scoring his goal during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on September 21, 2014
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool18143145172845
2Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest1911442619737
3Arsenal18106235161936
4Chelsea19105438231535
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle1995532211132
6Manchester CityMan City199463226631
7Bournemouth198652923630
8Fulham197842825329
9Aston Villa198562831-329
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton196942928127
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1973941281324
12Brentford187383232024
13West Ham UnitedWest Ham196582335-1223
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd196492126-522
15Crystal Palace194872027-720
16Everton183871524-917
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1944113142-1116
18Ipswich TownIpswich1936101833-1515
19Leicester CityLeicester1935112242-2014
20Southampton1913151239-276


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