The Blues saw off a spirited Brighton side to kick their Premier League campaign off with a win.
The victory did not come easy, however, and required a goal of the season contender from the unlikely source of full-back Reece James.
Speaking after the match to Sky Sports, Lampard said: “Reece James’ goal, it had me off my seat and we needed it, we weren’t at our best in that period.
“Reece has got that in him, he is a player of such quality. You try and get him in areas where he can be a threat.
“I thought we were OK. I liked the work ethic. If you analyse the fact that we’ve been together as a team for four days, to expect everything to click on day one is difficult.
“We showed determination and that is a game we might have dropped points in last year.
“I don’t want to pin us down to one system. We have three or four players who want to play as a 10 for us but I want us to be adaptable. We have a lot of attacking players, I want us to be fluid, I want that movement.
“We weren’t as fluid as we can be today but we will work on that.”
“I liked Kai Havertz. It’s not a game where you come away with some vintage moments and there’s a lot on his shoulders but you saw glimpses of what he can do. Everything I have seen from him is spot on and his quality will come through. He’s hugely talented.
“I loved the way that Timo Werner pops up in different areas, he has a hunger to score goals and be ruthless.
“We definitely want to close that gap to Liverpool, we have to have intentions to be up there even though it is a big ask to win it. We are behind, it’s step by step. Hopefully we can make big strides.
When quizzed on the strong speculation Chelsea could soon be signing a new goalkeeper, Lampard said: “I am happy with Kepa, I saw confidence in him, he is here, he is our keeper and I am happy with him.”
