The FA Cup final probably gave Lampard one last lesson of the season in the cruel challenges of management last weekend.

A goal up early on, he suffered in the final hour of Chelsea’s domestic campaign as his side conceded from a penalty, lost their captain, then their goalscorer, to similar injuries within minutes of each other, fell behind and went a man down courtesy of a highly dubious red card for the unfortunate Mateo Kovacic.

Lampard was keener to question why his players had not performed better in the aftermath of missing out on his first trophy as a manager, only later referring to more of the conspiring circumstances that have rendered his first year in charge difficult to judge.

Chelsea might have been expected to aim for more than a Top 4 finish under normal conditions and would have been expected to win a final against opponents in need of an overhaul, who finished well below them in the table.

But the transfer embargo they had been under until January, and the succession of misfortunes they suffered on Saturday, were reasonable excuses for shortcomings, even if Lampard didn’t choose to amplify them.

This season, Chelsea have won six Premier League matches in a row for the first time since their title-winning season of 2016/17 in November, giving themselves a nine-point cushion over fifth at the time.

They have also frequently underperformed since, sneaking through their middling Champions League group after salvaging a point from 4-1 down in a catastrophic defensive performance at home to Ajax.

If traditional Top 4 contenders Tottenham and Arsenal’s poor seasons allowed them the luxury of home defeats to Bournemouth and Southampton and a run of one win in five at the start of the year, they should also be given credit for beating United, Spurs and Wolves twice, not losing to Arsenal or Leicester in the league and knocking Liverpool out of the cup.

Owner Roman Abramovich has not been embarrassed by taking an obvious risk in employing a coach with no Premier League managerial experience, yet the 3-0 home mauling by Bayern Munich that is highly likely to condemn the club to an early exit from the Champions League is an indicator of how far they are from exceeding expectations.