Despite a subdued game, he still managed to produce one moment of magic to get the Premiership champions off to the perfect start in their Champions League campaign.
Chelsea forced the pace from the off and within four minutes Michael Essien unleashed a rasper of a right-footed drive which goalkeeper Daniel Zitka saved well. Within a minute he was back in action tipping over the crossbar a vicious Damien Duff left-footer from 15 yards out.
Up popped John Terry from a corner, on the edge of the area, but his right-footed shot was wayward and over the bar.
Anderlecht were happy to sit back in these opening encounters and hope to capitalise on errors to launch counter-attacks.
Duff gave them their first chance on eight minutes allowing Anthony Vanden Borre to attack on the right, but his deep cross flew across area and out of play.
Three minutes later and a fine attack by the Belgium side saw Serhat Akin arrow on goal, but his mis-hit shot was no threat.
A Rolan Juhasz flicked effort on goal lacked pace on 17 minutes and Chelsea keeper Petr Cech had no trouble picking the ball out of the air.
Chelsea were struggling at times to get through a five-man rearguard, but they could do nothing about the Blues breaking the deadlock on 19 minutes.
Up stepped Lampard, 25 yards out to take a free-kick.
With Ricardo Carvalho sent into the Anderlecht wall to unsettle them, Lampard ran up to take his shot.
The wall held its ground and position, but such was the accuracy of Lampard's right-footed piledriver that the ball went wide of the wall then seemed to swerve to the right.
Zitka misjudged the change in flight of the ball and flapped a vain attempt to get close to it.
Chelsea laboured for much of the remaining of the half, and the best chance to increase the lead fell to Didier Drogba, but the Ivory Coast striker headed over from a deep Duff by-line cross.
The second half was bereft of goal action, but what was on offer went the way of the visitors.
A Paulo Ferreira low, right-footed drive on 60 minutes did little to panic the Anderlecht defence.
A Lampard shot two minutes later forced Zitka into parrying the ball away from goal, but the Belgian side can count themselves a little hard done by on 64 minutes.
Vanden Borre running free from midfield, found space to try the spectacular. Sadly for him, his long-range shot from a full 30 yards, skidded off the wet surface, past a despairing dive by Cech and rebounded off the goalkeeper's right post.
It would have being an injustice for Anderlecht to equalise, but it almost happened.
With Jose Mourinho ringing the changes, it was left to star man Essien to provide the last of the action on 90 minutes.
He was unlucky to see his angled drive deflect off an Anderlecht defender for a corner, when the ball was arrowing in at the near post.