The Blues have often opened the scoring in matches this season and that was again the case at the Amex Stadium tonight as a Cole Palmer strike was turned into his own net by Bart Verbruggen to put us ahead inside five minutes.

However, that advantage lasted just seven minutes as Georginio Rutter levelled with a well-placed header and, early in the second half, Kaoru Mitoma struck the hosts’ second.

There were chances for Enzo Fernandez, Palmer and Tyrique George as we attempted to force an equaliser, but it didn’t arrive.

‘It’s for sure a shame, no doubt,’ Maresca reflected after the contest. ‘We need to learn how to win games 1-0. I said many times.

‘In the same way, in the last game against West Ham we were losing but in the end we won 2-1. That is part of the season, part of football, sometimes you are down and win and sometimes it happens like tonight.

‘But I said already to the players weeks ago – and said again tonight – that as a team we need to learn to win games 1-0. That is what big teams do.’

Maresca continued: ‘We started very good and the only shot they had in the first half was the goal. We controlled and we created some chances. In the second half, it was more of less the same; probably their only shot on goal was the second goal.

‘After the second goal, we had a few chances to draw but we missed.’

The Blues travelled to the south coast without a handful of players due to injury, and Reece James was also absent from the match-day squad.

However, Maresca explained the right-back’s absence was expected as he continues to work his way back to full fitness.

‘It was planned,' Maresca confirmed. 'He is ok, training, it was just to protect him a little bit to avoid an injury again.