With Everton leading 1-0, Richarlison appealed for a penalty for a shirt pull by Brentford defender Kristoffer Ajer but the visitors then immediately pumped a long ball for Ivan Toney to get behind the home side's defence. The striker got goal side of Branthwaite, who clipped his heels to earn a red card for a last-man challenge in the 18th minute.

The dismissal proved decisive as the Toffees went on to lose and missed the chance to secure their Premier League status to leave Lampard's side still only two points above the bottom three, with two games remaining.

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Asked about Branthwaite's red card, Lampard told Sky Sports: "The red card changes the game completely.

"It was as critical as can be because we had complete control. [There was a] possible penalty in the build up to that.

"It was a clear pull on Richarlison's shirt. People want to criticise my players whenever they go down and say they go down too easily. You wonder whether players should go down because that's a penalty.

"Then it goes down the other end and it's a mistake by Jarrad to let him run behind - you've got to run in early, drop off and deal with it easily and we didn't."

Later in his post-match press conference, Lampard added: "When you see that shirt pull [on Richarlison], that's a foul anywhere on the pitch.

"This 'clear and obvious' phrase, I don't know if it still counts but I think it's a nonsense. The decision is either right or wrong. And if a referee can't see it clear and they get the benefit of someone else... it's right or wrong. Is a shirt pull a foul? Yes. Is it in the box? Yes. It's a penalty."

Lampard is still facing an FA hearing over comments made after the Merseyside derby ended in a 2-0 defeat at Anfield last month, but said his frustration was not with individuals but the protocols they are asked to follow.

"The reality is we're on the wrong end of a lot of bad decisions this season," he said.

"That's hard. I have to represent the club, represent the fans that come here, and those small margins can affect our position and I do believe that penalty on the shirt pull means maybe 2-0 and 11 men and I think we all know how that game goes."

'PL safety is still in our hands'

Everton have another chance to preserve their Premier League status on Thursday when they host Crystal Palace, with Lampard hoping to be safe ahead of the final day trip to Arsenal.

"The important thing is that we have a positive attitude to what the next few days look like going into [the] Palace [match] because it's in our hands," he said.

"To be here at Goodison again, hopefully with 11 on the pitch and go for it ourselves, because we've got two more games and three more points will do it, and our home game is the next one.

"It's in our hands. They deserve a little rest because their legs are hanging off a bit because of our injury situation, but the spirit and the desire of this whole club is still going strong, so we have to push again.

"The players gave every drop. I can't complain about that at all. The fans gave every drop. The unfortunate thing was that the red card took the sting out of the fans, and understandably so because the atmosphere was incredible and a big circumstance in the game went against us.

"It was our mistake that one, but the players gave everything until the end."

Frank: Branthwaite a clear red card

Brentford boss Thomas Frank admitted Branthwaite's red card was the "crucial" moment in the match as his side scored twice in three second-half minutes to record the Bees' first league double over Everton since 1936.

Asked about Branthwaite's red card, he told Sky Sports: "No doubt that was a crucial moment in the game that went our way. I think it was a clear red card but it's small moments that you need to handle.

"Yes, I think it helped us but there's a lot of situations this season where teams went down to 10 men and the other team didn't win, and it's not that easy so that's why I'm very proud of us.

"[Referee] Michael Oliver did a very good job. It was a very difficult game. I think the thing that tricked me was they went very hard and physical to some of my players."

What's next?

Everton host Crystal Palace on Thursday at 7.45pm. On the final day of the Premier League season, Everton travel to Arsenal and Brentford host Leeds United on Sunday at 4pm.