Frank Lampard spoke in-depth to evertontv following the Blues' narrow 1-0 defeat to Manchester City at Goodison Park on Saturday. Read the key points from his post-match interview below.

Lampard on Everton’s performance…

All the fans in the stadium will have seen the effort, the quality and the organisation of the team. We clearly deserved something from the game. Against Manchester City, you have to put in so much preparation and the lads then have to apply that, and they did. There are the obvious parts [of the game] that are unfortunate…but in the football sense we were unfortunate because we did everything needed bar get ourselves a goal. We should take confidence in the performance, because it was great.

On the rousing reception from Evertonians after the game…

That’s a big deal for us. As staff, we’ve been here for a short time and I’ve felt a real uplift. The results don’t exactly say that as much as they should, but I think the fans are feeling it, especially at Goodison. We need to address our performances away from home but, when we have that backing and the players put that effort in and do the basics Everton fans demand, they will clap you off. Hopefully both sides – players and fans – can take some good feelings out of the game once we get over the fact the chance of getting a draw was taken away from us.

On Everton’s strong claims for a penalty…

Manchester City fans and players will know they’ve got away with one. The arm is out, he moves his arm to the ball, all the criteria are hit [for a handball]. It’s a really bad day for VAR that they’ve got that wrong. 

On the intensity Everton displayed…

You can’t run around like headless chickens because, as they’re so good on the ball, they’ll commit you and pass around you, so if you press without any thought process, it won’t work. The lads did brilliantly in terms of the organisation. We set up in a certain way, where we wanted to allow some things – some deep possession from them and through the sides – and then be really quick in how we deal with it. When you come in mid-season, there are a lot of asks. There is the basic ask of ‘run more’, there’s the ask of being in the right condition to do that, and then there’s the ask of doing it in a good, organised way. The players ticked all those boxes and we have to take that forward.

On the belief Everton showed in possession…

We have good players, and they should have confidence in themselves to play. Against City – the team that press the best in the league – you must have courage and quality, and in the first half we mixed our game perfectly. We missed out their press with straighter balls and we played through on angles, with support. Doucoure was big for us. He was a real link in terms of energy and quality from that middle area to the front line. But I couldn’t criticise anyone. The overall performance was great. A point would have been great and I even thought we could win the game, but for different reasons it went against us. The heads can’t stay down for too long. We can’t look at the table too much. There are a lot of games to go and, if we play like that, we will get a lot of points.

On Abdoulaye Doucoure’s impressive return from injury…

I speak with a lot of the medical and sports science staff and I was asking, ‘Can he handle 90 minutes against City? He’s been out for five weeks and City is the hardest game for a midfield player’. The staff just replied, ‘Yes, he can handle it’. At the end of the game, he was still running, he is so mobile, he has good quality and has great desire. I’ve seen that in training from him since he’s came back. It’s a big plus for us having him come back. Let’s keep him fit and flying.

On the switch to a 4-3-3 formation…

We’re not changing for the sake of it. Some of the changes in formation have been dictated by injuries since I’ve been in. We’re trying to have the right strengths in the team, but still have the same idea. With the 4-4-2 against Leeds, we pressed really well, and with the 4-3-3 against City we pressed very well again in that mid-block and broke really well. Some of the fundamentals stay the same and the tweaks in formation can help to get the likes of Doucoure, Donny and Allan in areas where they have numbers and can play through the lines and press, knowing they have support from each other. There were big positives on that front. 

On Donny van de Beek’s fitness after he was substituted 19 minutes from time…

We’re hoping it’s cramp. It doesn’t look too bad. If it is cramp, it’s no wonder, because he hadn’t been playing too regularly and it was a big physical output game for a midfield player. He played very well again. He is loving being here, you can sense that. He’s loving his teammates and they’ve really taken to him. He is a really intelligent player and works hard – the fans love him for that – so let’s hope he’s alright.

On Jordan Pickford’s impressive performance…

He was great in all senses. He was calming, with the few catches he made, his distribution was good and, of course, the saves. The two saves back-to-back were absolutely world-class. I’m not sure he always gets the credit he should, because they were top-class saves. Everton fans will know that. He is a dream to work with. He gets on with his job, he is professional and gives everything. As a manager, I am very happy to be working with a goalkeeper of his level. To be fair, all the goalkeepers – Asmir Begovic, Andy Lonergan and the young lads – are all a really good bunch who support each other. That’s a big strength for us. 

On the emotional show of support to Ukraine before kick-off… 

This club has a lot of heart. It’s The People’s Club. It’s really tough to see what’s happening in the world at the moment. It was a great show of unity between clubs, players and fans. It was a special moment. 

On what Everton must take from their performance against City…

The main thing is how we played – and that’s not just for the ones of the pitch, but the players who didn’t feature. Some who didn’t play today will play in the FA Cup. They need to play to that level and take that forward. There were things I saw when I came here that I could see clearly had to get better – the fundamentals in our game. A lot of things I see are now a lot better, especially in the home games. Once we get over the disappointment of the result, we need to drive ourselves to [regularly] deliver something like that performance against City. If we do, we’ll have a great chance to get where we want to be this season, then we’ll take it forward.