Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca admits his side are in a difficult place but is confident his team can come out of their slump.
The Blues fell to a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City on Saturday evening, with the London club dropping to sixth in the process.
It was their fifth loss of the campaign, the same amount as Fulham, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Brighton.
Noni Madueke put the visitors ahead early on after a mistake from Abdukodir Khusanov but the hosts fought back, with goals from Josko Gvardiol, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.
Maresca reflected on the match, admitting he was frustrated with missed chances.
He said: “The game started very well for us. We scored the first one and could have scored the second goal two or three times. The game would have completely changed. We missed.
“The team was there but in the last minutes we conceded for 1-1. The second goal changed the game. Robert is the first one [to admit] he knows he has to do better. Working hard every day [is the way to improve]. We try to have conversations with all of them.
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“We are making progress. We are better than one or two months ago. These moments will make us better.
“We scored the first one and could have scored the second one and then against this team and these players, the game is always open. We conceded at the end of the first half and then the second half was probably 50/50.
“When you concede at the end of the first half, and the best way is to avoid it. Probably for me, the game is different if we scored the second one.
“We need to be better but also playing the way we play, we scored the first one and could have scored the second one. If we were able to score it, the game could have been very different for us.”
Maresca added that he knows City have quality players that can punish any opposition in the world.
And he once again defender goalkeeper Robert Sanchez after he was caught in no man’s land for City’s second.
“They have players that in any moment they can change the game.
“In my opinion we are better than one-to-two months ago.
“Robert [Sanchez] is the first one aware of the mistake. I think the second goal changed the mood.
“We are in a moment – game after game it’s a chance for us to learn.”
