‘The lads did show great character to overcome that but at the same time it’s not a position when you come somewhere where the team are organised and want to make it difficult for you and we gave them three goals so I’m left with mixed emotions.
‘I was happy to see my team fight to the last minute to get the goals back but I have to go back to beginning and not be happy with the fact that we conceded three goals from three shots on target.’
Callum Hudson-Odoi had a positive impact as a half-time introduction, scoring our second goal at the end of a delightful exchange with Kai Havertz…
‘Callum gave us everything that I wanted. He gets his goal from giving us something different and that’s what he needs to do because that’s the impact he can have for us.
‘It has to be consistent but he’s given himself a great platform to continue in that vein because he’ll be very important for us if he does.’
Thiago Silva made a mistake for one goal but Lampard had words of encouragement…
‘Thiago Silva is going to be fantastic for us. He’s been incredible in his career and I will not put any blame on him.
‘We’re a team, we have to react around that and the team did in the second half but it’s nothing on him. I’m sure he’ll stand up and say it was a mistake but other than that I thought he was pretty faultless in the game and that’s his first Premier League game in the bank so we’ll get a lot more from him.’
The boss was also pleased with the hunger of those who had a point to prove…
‘In a competitive squad with people who want to play, you always want there to be hunger in a positive fashion. It’s great to see the reaction of Callum coming on and playing the way he did, making a difference and Tammy as well. Younger players in particular have been questioned about how they will react and what their place will be in the squad but it’s there for them to take with both hands.
‘It was a difficult game for Tammy today where he has to keep working and fighting all the time to try and break down a back five that want to sit deep but he gets his reward at the end so there were positives there.’
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