There was no lack of attacking opportunities for the Blues on Thursday night but in the end we only had a late Joao Felix goal to show from them, albeit a very good one. Man United however made the Blues pay when we gave them a sniff of the target.

‘They [Man United] had a clinical nature in front of goal,’ said Lampard. ‘We were the better football team in the middle chunk of the game. For possession and chances created we matched them at least; we had better chances. Then to be 2-0 down in that situation is a sign of where we are at.

‘I have mixed feelings, we played okay in parts today. There were some individual performances within the game which I think can be nice shoots for the future, if they are worked on, but of course the reality when you come to Manchester United is how clinical they are in front of goal, how non-clinical we are, how we defended poorly individually in the second half. That’s how the result can come.

‘There is talent in the squad but it was another reality day today. It is going to take work to change that.’

The caretaker manager emphasised that for any Premier League team to win consistently, its overall standards must be kept high.

‘It is about training well every day, trying to improve, being a real collective unit,’ he said.

‘There is not a lack of effort, but you build credit through training, preparation and resilience.

‘It’s been a bad year for the club and many clubs have these years. We have had massive success over the last 20 years.’