A first-half Gylfi Sigurdsson penalty proved the difference at Goodison Park as our long unbeaten run came to an end. The Blues huffed and puffed in search of an equaliser and did strike the woodwork on a couple of occasions, but Lampard recognised a slow start cost us.

Report: Everton 1 Chelsea 0

‘We could have got something out of the game, but I wouldn’t say we were unlucky,’ he assessed.

‘We didn’t pepper their goal with great opportunities. We weren’t at our best. We didn’t deal with the physicality of the early parts of the game well.

‘Once you go 1-0 down you give yourself a problem and give them something to hang on to. We didn’t show enough to break them down.

‘If we are honest with ourselves it wasn’t the us of recently.’

Lampard commented on Edouard Mendy’s foul for the penalty

‘He’s been fantastic since he’s been here. I don’t think it was clearly just his mistake either. The mentality of the team to deal with second balls in the early parts of the game wasn’t so good.

‘This is a team who are well organised, who wanted to stop us playing. When you give them that head start it’s very difficult. We didn’t quite do enough but I don’t think we necessarily deserved to lose the game.

‘We are a work in progress and nights like tonight may happen. I don’t like them, but that’s the challenge for us. We need to bounce back very strong. Let’s see on Tuesday.’

Christian Pulisic was missing from the matchday squad

‘He had to be left out. He was uncomfortable in training this week and yesterday. We did miss our three wingers who are injured.

‘It comes back to the same story, there are muscle injuries all over the Premier League. Rodriguez was out for them. When you watch Everton against Chelsea you want to see these sorts of players, exciting wingers. If you don’t you don’t see the best of the Premier League.

‘It comes back to something which I think will be addressed again with the five subs later in the week. In terms of player welfare, we are asking players to fly all over the world for their country and play three games in 10 days, and then go again on a Saturday and a Tuesday. Players that are explosive at the top end of the pitch are getting issues.

‘That’s the big picture. It’s frustrating. Every team has big squads. Everybody can pack their benches. Did we miss the wide players today? We did, because they are big players for us.’