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Liverpool and Chelsea clashed in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup final at the Vodafone Arena in Istanbul, with The Reds triumphing 5-4 on penalties.
Jurgen Klopp's men booked their spot in the match by virtue of their Champions League triumph in June, while Chelsea won the Europa League over Arsenal to earn a spot in this encounter.
In what was a highly enthralling and action-packed match, neither side could be separated after 120 minutes, with a 2-2 draw ensuring we had the lottery of penalties. For Liverpool, it represents their second trophy in three months under Jurgen Klopp, while Lampard, despite his success as a player continues the wait for his first managerial title.
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In this piece, we shall be highlighting four talking points from the 2019 UEFA Super Cup final.
#4 Even in defeat, Chelsea can hold their heads high
Having been handed a two-window transfer ban for breaching rules over the registration of underaged players, Chelsea could not make additions to their squad over the summer.
It is a less than ideal situation to be in, but head coach Frank Lampard would have to make do with what he has, with an emphasis being placed on youth players.
The Blues were embarrassed in their opening Premier League match by Manchester United in a 4-0 whitewash at Old Trafford, which served to highlight how far behind their rivals Chelsea are, compared to their rivals.
By contrast, Liverpool are very much a side on the ascendancy and given their impressive run in the Premier League last season and Champions League triumph, the Merseysiders entered the fixture as overwhelming favorites.
However, in scenes that went contrary to pre-match analysis, Chelsea gave as much as they got, holding Liverpool for the entirety of the 120 minutes and can somewhat consider themselves unlucky to have lost the tie.
Chelsea hit the frame of the post on two occasions and fashioned many other good chances, while most of their players including Pedro, Christian Pulisic and Olivier Giroud also impressed.
Despite losing, Frank Lampard would have been impressed by the fact that his team went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in Europe, and this would give the club confidence moving forward.
#3 Huge strides for the women's game
Earlier in the summer, France hosted the eighth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, and major props were given for the general coordination and packaging of the tournament.
Women's football has seen an improvement in technique and standards, as well as garnered progressive interest in recent years, leading to widespread criticism over the disparity in pay between female players and their male counterparts.
Gains have been made, with FIFA promising to double the prize money for the next World Cup, while numerous national football federations have made commitments to improving the standards of the women's game in their countries.
In the Super Cup match between Chelsea and Liverpool, major strides were taken towards improving the global appeal of female participation in the sport, as a female referee was appointed to officiate the match.
It was the first time a woman would take charge of a major UEFA competitive match, and Stephanie Frappert was assisted by Manuela Nicolosi and Michelle O'Neil, the same composition which was also the same all women crew that officiated the final of the Women's World Cup between United States and Netherlands.
If there were fears over Frappert's ability to control such a high profile match, those doubts were quickly shelved as the 35-year-old had a firm grip on the match and displayed her authority in the game.
She and her crew of assistant referees got all the major decisions correctly, and with the French League and German Bundesliga having already given opportunities to female referees in the past, UEFA's endorsement is a major stride towards gender equality and equal representation in the beautiful game.
#2 Adrian the unlikely hero
Alisson Becker was one of Liverpool's most important players last season, and had a brilliant individual campaign, winning three Golden Gloves to emerge as one of the forerunners for the Ballon d'Or.
However, on the first day of the new season, he pulled up with what has been confirmed to be a calf injury. Given the numerous issues in the goalkeeping positions that Liverpool fans have had to deal with over the years, they would be forgiven for fearing the worst.
In stepped recent addition Adrian to take the place of the Brazilian shot-stopper, with the 32-year-old having been signed on a free, after representing West Ham for the last six seasons.
Just two weeks ago, the former Real Betis man was unemployed and believed his career at the top level was over and was headed back to Spain to sign on a free for Real Valladolid, before Mignolet's departure to Club Brugge made Liverpool bring him in as an understudy to Alisson.
Adrian last started a game way back in January, and even he would have not expected his full debut to come so soon or in such an important game. In the game against Chelsea, he once again took the mantle in goal and made a major hash of his attempted save in extra time, bundling Tammy Abraham over in the penalty box.
Referee Frappert wasted no time in pointing to the penalty spot, and Jorginho converted the resultant spot-kick to level matters for his side.
In the penalty shootout, Adrian had a shot at redemption, and it was one he took, saving the tenth spot-kick with his legs from Abraham after all other nine had been converted to send Liverpool fans in Istanbul and around the world into delirium.
#1 Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino underline their importance to the Liverpool cause
Having not played a part in Liverpool's penalty shootout defeat to Manchester City owing to his extra exertions over the summer at the Africa Cup of Nations, Sadio Mane was slowly eased back into competitive action and was handed a brief cameo in the 4-1 opening day victory over Norwich City.
A major talking point before kickoff was whether the Senegalese would start against Chelsea, and the answer turned out to be yes, as Liverpool's number 10 was started in a front three also featuring Mohamed Salah and Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain.
The 27-year-old proved his mettle and rewarded his coach's faith, equalizing immediately after the kickoff of the second half, bundling over the line to draw Liverpool level. Few minutes into extra time, the former Southampton man showed his class, once more, blasting past Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga with an unstoppable left-footed finish to put Liverpool 2-1 up.
His night was ended soon after, as Jurgen Klopp withdrew him for Divock Origi and despite expressing his displeasure, Mane's performance was deserving of praise.
For his part, Roberto Firmino was dropped to the bench in favor of Chamberlain but the former was introduced at half-time, with his manager describing the decision to start the Englishman as a 'mistake'.
Together with Mane and Salah, Firmino has formed one of Europe's most devastating attacking trident, and just two minutes after taking to the field, he set his Senegalese partner up for Liverpool's equalizer.
The Brazilian international also had a hand in Mane's second goal, as it was his finely weighted pass that was rifled into the top corner by the former Southampton man.
Both Mane and Firmino have played huge roles in the strides made by Liverpool under Klopp, and on the evidence of their performance against Chelsea, they are raring to go once again this season.
