Frank Lampard had nothing but glowing things to say about his Chelsea squad despite defeat in the Super Cup to Premier League rivals Liverpool.
Chelsea drew 2-2 but fell on penalties when Tammy Abraham’s effort was saved by Adrian. The Blues boss believed his side was the stronger squad in the match and was delighted they went toe-to-toe with the defending Champions League champions.
“Clearly for me we were the stronger team,” Lampard said during his post-match media duties. “We had bad luck at times and bad finishing at times. My overall feeling is one of pride in team performance and happiness.”
Lampard particularly hoped that Abraham could put his critical miss behind him. The 21-year-old Chelsea academy graduate was bright after coming on in the 74th minute to replace Olivier Giroud, and won the penalty that brought the scoreline level in extra-time.
“Tammy needs to keep his head up,” Lampard told BT Sport after the game. “That’s part and parcel of being a top player. You want to take the fifth penalty but you might miss it.”
And Abraham wasn’t the only player whose positive influence he hoped to spotlight. “Talk about Jorginho, talk about that performance, talk about [N’Golo] Kante who has hardly trained, talk about Kurt Zouma, Andreas [Christensen], I could go through them all, incredible. I’m really proud and I know we lost, but I’m confident for the season after that.”