Coventry had led through Yann Gboho when the first of those decisions returned to Lampard’s mind after the whistle. Within four minutes of the forward’s 52nd-minute opener, Thierno Barry had equalised; five minutes later, Barry had scored again and the match had turned.

Lampard was unambiguous afterwards. “When big decisions change games, they absolutely do. It’s disappointing. VAR is there for that and it didn’t do its job,” he told Sky Sports at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Friday.

The Coventry manager, who has previously taken charge of both Chelsea and Everton, did not argue every call should have been overturned. He said collectively, though, they had decided the match.

The hair pull on Yirenkyi

The first flashpoint came in the 39th minute. James Tarkowski appeared to tug the hair of Caleb Yirenkyi in the Everton penalty area as the pair contested a set piece. VAR checked and cleared it.

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Lampard told Sky Sports he thought the laws were plain. A recent change means the offence no longer carries an automatic red card, he acknowledged, but in his view the challenge prevented Yirenkyi from jumping cleanly, and that made it a foul inside the area.

Awoniyi felled on the line

Four minutes into the second half, Taiwo Awoniyi was brought down by Vitalii Mykolenko as he ran through on goal. Referee and VAR both judged the contact to have occurred fractionally outside the box.

Lampard disagreed with the geometry, arguing that Awoniyi’s foot and the back of his knee were on the line, which under the laws of the game is inside the area. No free-kick was awarded in open play either.

Barry’s winner survives review

The decisive call followed in the 61st minute. From a Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall cross to the back post, Barry forced the ball over the line amid Coventry protests that he had used his hand. VAR searched for a conclusive angle, could not find one, and let the goal stand.

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According to Sky Sports, Lampard said Barry’s second goal had come off the Everton forward’s hand, adding that he hated sounding like a moaner but that such things could happen in a match. He also noted how brief the review had been before the goal was confirmed.

Everton manager David Moyes disputed the handball claim on the Barry goal but accepted the wider frustration with officiating, saying recent decisions had not gone Everton’s way either.

Dewsbury-Hall sealed the result in the 81st minute, finishing at the near post from a Barry assist. VAVEL’s post-match analysis noted that Coventry conceded Barry’s equaliser within four minutes of Gboho’s opener and never recovered, with an inability to manage the game after scoring a recurring issue for Lampard’s side on the road.

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