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Fresh from their resounding 5-2 victory away to Wolverhampton Wanderers at the weekend, Chelsea hosted Spanish side Valencia in their first game of the Champions League season, and they would have been seeking to kickstart their campaign with a victory.
Their opponents had been dismantled 5-2 by Barcelona over the weekend, while there was also an element of disgruntlement in the squad following the controversial sacking of the immensely popular Marcelino as head coach.
Frank Lampard made a name for himself in this tournament during his playing days, scoring 25 goals and playing a major role in Chelsea's 2012 triumph. However, it was a less than ideal start to his managerial tenure in the competition, as Valencia ran out 1-0 winners on Chelsea's turf.
This was a fixture that Chelsea were expected to win, and their failure to do so piles even more pressure on their manager. In this piece, we shall be highlighting three reasons why Chelsea fell to defeat against Valencia.
#3 Mason Mount's early injury
Frank Lampard was forced into a early substitution not for tactical reasons, but due to an injury picked up by Mason Mount.
The 20-year-old had been innocuously tackled by former Arsenal man Francis Coquelin, but the Frenchman caught Mount with his studs and the Chelsea man landed awkwardly on his ankle.
Though seemingly not deliberate, the impact was massive, and Coquelin received a yellow card for his efforts, while Mason Mount writhed on the floor in pain.
To his credit, the former Derby County loanee tried his best to shake off the injury, but the damage was too severe and he had to be substituted for Pedro Rodriguez.
Mason Mount has been one of the most influential players for Frank Lampard this season, scoring three goals from five Premier League matches so far, while he has also acted as the creative hub through which Chelsea's play is undertaken.
In his absence, Chelsea lacked the creativity he offers, struggling to find space in a congested Valencia midfield and as such were forced to go out wide to swing ineffective crosses in.
Given his importance to the squad, Frank Lampard and Chelsea fans would be sweating on news over the fitness of Mason Mount, as they are simply not the same side without him in the team which was made glaringly obvious against Valencia.
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#2 Chelsea failed to take their chances
Despite their struggles so far this season, Chelsea are still one of the biggest sides in the world, and Stamford Bridge is still an imposing stadium.
It was in light of this that opposition manager Albert Celades fielded a 4-5-1 formation, congesting his midfield to limit the threat of Chelsea catching them out on the break.
Further testament to the respect paid Chelsea by Valencia lay in the fact that the Spanish side sat deep, content to hand all the possession to the hosts and largely relied on set-pieces for their attacking threats.
The game played out to a largely predictable theme, with Frank Lampard's side having the Lion's share of possession, while most of the play was stationed in Valencia's half.
In total, Chelsea had 58% possession and had a total of 15 shots with seven of those being on target.
However, they failed to make any of those count and were guilty of profligacy in front of goal with Pedro and Willian being major culprits while Valencia goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen put up a good shift in between the sticks.
By contrast, Los Che made the most of their set-piece chances, and it was no surprise that their goal came off a free-kick floated into the box by Dani Parejo and finished with aplomb by Rodrigo.
The goal was one of only two shots on target they had in the match, and this clinicality in front of goal was ultimately the difference between victory and defeat for Chelsea.
#1 Ross Barkley's missed penalty
When Chelsea went behind in the 74th minute, it was largely against the run of play, and given the limited time available, all hope seemed lost for The Blues.
The home side cranked up the pressure in a bid to force the equalizer, and were handed a lifeline when Fikayo Tomori's header struck the outstretched arm of Daniel Wass.
Center-referee Cuneyt Cakir initially waved play on, but was advised by VAR to review his decision, and upon rechecking the incident, the Turk rescinded his former decision and pointed to the spot.
Up stepped Ross Barkley who had been on the field for less than five minutes, and seeing as he has been out of the first team picture in recent weeks, perhaps the Englishman sought this as an opportunity to play his way back into Lampard's thoughts.
There was a mild debate between him and Willian over the responsibility to take the spotkick - with Barkley holding firm - and once that happened, you got the feeling that it would not end well, and that proved to be the case.
The 25-year-old smashed his penalty against the bar, ensuring that Frank Lampard's endured yet more misery at Staford Bridge.
