Coventry City moved a step closer to the Premier League with a pulsating 3-2 win over Derby as Jack Rudoni scored twice on his return from injury.
The Rams proved a pesky opponent for Coventry to crack, twice pegging back the Championship leaders but Rudoni, who sprung from the bench on 62 minutes, scored the second of his two goals with 10 minutes remaining.
The midfielder had been out of action since February 28 but returned to devastating effect as Coventry made it eight wins in nine league outings.
The win means Coventry are 11 points clear at the top and need just eight points from their remaining six games to secure a Premier League return.
Frank Onyeka got Coventry off to the perfect start, curling home a fabulous effort from range but Ben Brereton Diaz headed home an equaliser courtesy of a sensational cross from Matt Clarke.
Lampard, who led Derby to the Championship play off final in 2019, made a triple sub just after the hour mark and four minutes later it paid dividends.
Both teams squandered chances before Rudoni showed how it's done when firing home from 15 yards.
Derby kept asking questions though and won a penalty when Brereton Diaz was adjudged to have been fouled by Carl Rushworth despite the goalkeeper getting a touch on the ball.
Brereton Diaz dispatched the penalty but just three minutes Rudoni struck again to leave the home fans signing about winning the league.
Coventry's Frank Lampard:
"Enjoy it while it's there because we don't always get these nights and these results and we've had a lot of them this season.
"Now they can enjoy it, they're a massive part of what we do here, the fans are incredible.
"Both teams took part in a great game of football and we've come out on top.
"It was a great night of football, I really enjoyed the game. Elements I didn't love, elements I really liked.
"But we come away with a win. This team has got character."
Derby's John Eustace:
"I thought we were excellent. It was really pleasing to come to the best team in the league and perform how we did.
"It showed good signs for us. We had two or three missing and we've certainly not let anyone down.
"We'd started well before they scored, then we showed great character to come back into it.
"I'm disappointed to lose. The three goals we conceded were all sloppy and we could have scored a couple more ourselves if we'd been more clinical.
"We've got six big games coming up now that we'll be ready for."
