For a number of Blues, last season’s Champions League campaign offered them their first taste of elite European football. Our run ended at the round of 16 stage, as we were emphatically beaten over two legs by eventual winners Bayern Munich.

After a late finish to that tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic, a late start to the next begins with the Europa League winners' trip to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.

‘The players that were here last year, and talking about the young players particularly in the Bayern Munich games because of the strong opposition, it would have been a learning curve for them,’ noted Lampard.

‘That’s the Champions League; it’s the top club competition in world football. They will be better for it; they will want to improve this year in that. We will see how much they have learned.

‘Of the players we have brought in, some have more Champions League experience than others,' added Lampard.

'We generally have younger players so it’s important we try and make sure we learn any lessons as we go because the Champions League is so cut-throat.

‘You have to have absolute focus because of the level of teams you’re playing, and particularly as we start against Sevilla.’