Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca admits his side are in a tough spot but is confident his side can break out of the slump.
The Blues slumped to a 3-1 defeat at Manchester City on Saturday night, with the London club dropping to sixth place.
It was their fifth defeat of the campaign, level with Fulham, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Brighton.
Noni Madueke put the visitors ahead early on after a mistake by Abdukodir Khusanov, but the home side hit back with goals from Josko Gvardiol, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.
Maresca reflected on the match, admitting he was disappointed with the missed opportunities.
He said: “The game started really well for us. We scored the first goal and could have scored the second goal two or three times. The game would have changed completely. We missed him.
“The team was there but in the last minutes we conceded for 1-1. The second goal changed the game. Robert is the first (to admit) that he knows he needs 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 a month or two ago. These moments will make us better.
“We scored the first and could have scored the second and then against this team and these players, the game is always open. We conceded at the end of the first half and after the second half it 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 have to be better, but also playing the way we are playing, we scored the first and we could have scored the second. If we could have scored that, the game could have been very different for us.”
Maresca added that he knows City have quality players who can punish any opponent in the world.
And once again the defensive goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, after being caught in the country for the second time at City.
“They have players who at any moment can change the game.
“In my opinion we are better than one or two months ago.
“Robert (Sanchez) is the first to realize the mistake. I think the second goal changed the mood.
“We’re in a moment – game by game is an opportunity for us to learn.”
