Captain Reece James feels Chelsea have themselves to blame after throwing away a half-time lead to lose 2-1 to Aston Villa.
The Blues dominated in the first half at Stamford Bridge and should have had more to show for it than a single goal scored by João Pedro, who flicked in James’ corner.
Ollie Watkins came off the bench after the break to stun the hosts with two goals as Villa were completely revived by Unai Emery’s substitutions, while Chelsea were wrongfooted.
“We dominated 60, 65 minutes of the game,” said James. “We came out sharp with the way we set up, we got off on the front foot and in the right way.
“In the first 60 minutes they didn’t create any chances, and then they get one and the dynamic changes.
“We knew they’d make substitutions and the shape changed slightly but it was nothing we shouldn’t have been able to deal with. We understand the style and the way they want to play. We have ourselves to blame.
“Second half one or two moments changed the game. They picked up momentum. It was two slight errors from us and we got punished. This is why it’s the toughest league in the world. It’s always disappointing to lose at home.”
Rarely this season have Chelsea dominated so much at home as they did in the first half. After four minutes, Cole Palmer took the ball down masterfully on the turn and lifted a shot fractionally wide. There was also a powerful run by the England forward which allowed the ball to break to Enzo Fernández who curled beyond a post.
Pedro got his foot to Pedro Neto’s cross but was denied at close range by Emiliano MartÃnez as Chelsea’s chances kept coming.
There were more opportunities after half-time as John McGinn took the ball off the toe of Alejandro Garnacho and James brought a wonderful save from Martinez, before Emery’s changes – sending on Watkins, Jadon Sancho and Amadou Onana – changed everything.
It left Chelsea with just one win to show from their last six Premier League matches as they have slumped from second to fifth.
“Many teams have spells in the season when they’re underperforming,” said James. “We have to keep chipping away game by game. We are fighting every day, we want to get better.
“We have to put this game behind this and look forward because we have another game in a few days (against Bournemouth) which we have to prepare right for, come back and win.”
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Victory for Villa made it 11 in a row in all competitions and 12 out of 13 in the league to ensure they remained in touch with the Premier League leaders.
Three months ago they were themselves agonising over poor form having failed to win any of their opening five league matches.
“We were so so worried three months ago, in August and September,” said Emery.
“But we were not watching the table, only thinking each match, and through creating our structure strong tactically and working hard.”