'I wanted to come here and be brave on and off the ball. In the first half, you saw all of that but ultimately it wasn't the critical thing. It just shows that in games like this, it's the finer details in both boxes that are decisive,' he said.
'You can't say anything other than it was two really strong teams. Their first goal was deflected and the second was a real moment of quality from (Riyad) Mahrez.'
Results against the top teams have been Chelsea's Achilles heel in an otherwise impressive debut season for Lampard.
But he doesn't think his young team will take long to win a big one.
'We went toe to toe with Liverpool (in the European Super Cup). It is about moments in the boxes. It's not something you can put down to general play.
'Liverpool and City and have been getting results together for a long time.'
Chelsea missed a host of chances in the first half at The Etihad having taken the lead and could have put the game to bed before Kevin De Bruyne's equaliser after 29 minutes.
