Prior to the 1-0 home defeat served up in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off, the Blues had dropped just two points in the first five league matches, and those were at Anfield. However for the first time in all competitions in 2021/22, we now have to bounce back from defeat after a Gabriel Jesus goal in the second half gave Man City a win their display deserved.‘We are disappointed with the result, it was not our best performance,’ admitted Azpilicueta.‘Especially in the first 60 minutes it was hard to get out. We didn’t create chances, we lost the ball too easily. They dominated us.

‘After the goal we had a good reaction, we pushed a bit but it was not enough to get something from the game.‘Sometimes when you play against tough opponents they play well, they are that their best level,’ he continued.‘We could not keep the ball as we like to do or get out of the pressure and find some spaces. We made so many mistakes in terms of passing, in terms of touches. We tried to stay in the game but from a short corner we lost the game.’

As is so often the case for a Chelsea side, an off-key outing is quickly followed by another big challenge and an opportunity to quickly prove ourselves again. This week we travel to Italy to take on Serie A giants Juventus in the Champions League.‘Every competition is different, every game is a new challenge,’ said the skipper. ‘Against City we lost, we are disappointed, we had the chance to get three important points but now we have to analyse it, improve on what we did not do that well and move on to the next game because it is a long season.‘We did not lose the league on Saturday, just as if we had won we knew we did not win the league on Saturday, so we have to keep working.’