Valencia vs Chelsea: Decisive Champions League trip to Mestalla offers Frank Lampard chance to make statement

Frank Lampard mustered a brave face despite Chelsea slumping to defeat against Manchester City; content that his side had been “brave” yet realistic enough to understand the “finer details” are truly decisive at this level.

Lampard continues to ponder quite where his side are at this stage: thrilling moments from a side bursting with potential have been entwined with setbacks against stronger opposition.

Which brings us to a potentially decisive Champions League group stage match at the Mestalla, a notoriously tricky place to play, with Los Che unbeaten at home in La Liga this season (Ajax ran out 3-0 winners in Europe), though Lampard will have fond memories as a player.

After stumbling in a 1-1 draw at home in the 2017 quarter-finals, a last-minute rocket from Michael Essien sent the Blues through. The Blues will hope such late intervention is not required, yet here they are in matchday five, locked in a three-way tie with Valencia and Ajax on seven points.

Audacious approaches against the big two back home, as well as Michy Batshuayi snatching victory late on in Amsterdam have provided glimpses of what Lampard’s side hope to blossom into: a serious threat for the title and, for now, a threat in the knock-out stages of Europe’s top competition.

“Everyone seems fixated on these couple of games we have played. We went toe to toe with Liverpool in Istanbul and lost on penalties. We lost at home to them in the league pushing for 45 minutes, and we have lost today with a very good performance,” Lampard concluded.

“It’s moments in the boxes. That can be why you win it or why you don’t. We’re coming, that’s what I thought, we’re coming to close the gap.”

Inconsistency was to be expected in Lampard’s debut campaign, especially after persevering with such a youthful collection of players: a lack of composure in the reverse fixture saw Rodrigo deliver an early reality check to the steep learning curve at Stamford Bridge this season.

Albert Celades’ side remain inconsistent as they languish in mid-table, with Real Betis seizing all three points at the weekend through Sergio Canales’ stoppage-time winner.

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“It’s a ‘must not lose’ game because of the position we’re in,” Lampard told a news conference on Tuesday. “We lost ground in the first game against Valencia. We’ve made up a lot of that ground but I always felt it would be a tight group. We don’t want to lose the game.

“It doesn’t mean we’re out if we lose but it puts us in a very difficult position.”

Lampard added that his side were unfortunate to lose against Valencia at Stamford Bridge but he expected another difficult game.

“I felt we were the better team but we conceded a goal. My major feeling after the first game was the lesson will always be, whether you’re 18 or 32 in the Champions League, if you sleep for one moment you can lose a game,” he said.

“We’ll need to take every bit of concentration, every bit of focus into this game because the rules always remain the same. Particularly when you travel in the Champions League and particularly when you come to a stadium like this.”