Chelsea manager Frank Lampard insists he was impressed by his team despite losing 1-0 to Kawasaki Frontale in their third preseason friendly match.

The Blues lost to an 86th minute Leandro Damiao goal, to bring an end to their winning streak having won one and drawn the other in the opening three matches.

Speaking after the match, Lampard identified the physical effort his team put in as being a particular source of satisfaction for him.

“Obviously we want to win matches no matter what,” Lampard began, “but 10 days of pre-season having flown into Japan three days ago brings up a lot of difficulties for us physically,”

“That’s why I was very pleased with the players physically. They gave everything in strong humidity with some good individual performances. I discovered a real appetite and attitude to work in the humidity with jetlag for a lot of the players,”

“People are finding their fitness and their form. There are the normal things in pre-season that take a bit of time: being clinical in front of goal which we weren’t, but that comes, and some small details we will work on,”

Lampard started with some of his star players, including David Luiz, Cezar Azpilcuta, Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, and Pedro, with Giroud and new signing Pulisic coming in the second half.

Chelsea will next face Barcelona on Tuesday, as they prepare for the start of the new season.