The Blues created plenty of chances in either half at Portman Road and there was an offside goal for Joao Felix and Cole Palmer hit the post during the opening period.

But ultimately it was Ipswich who left with all three points after Liam Delap's penalty on 12 minutes and a goal early in the second half from former Chelsea winger Omari Hutchinson.

Maresca said: 'It was a bit of a strange game. We created so many chances in the first half and in the first five or 10 minutes of the second half, we had two clear chances; the header from Joao [Felix] and another shot.

'Then I think the second goal killed the game a little bit. Sometimes when you create so many chances, the post, the VAR, the 'keeper saves or the defenders that block the shot, sometimes it has to go in that way.

‘It's a shame because it was another chance for us but congratulations to them because probably when you save so many shots on the line, the goalkeeper, the body, the desire from them was very high.'

Chelsea have suffered consecutive defeats for the first time under Maresca following the 2-1 loss to Fulham on Boxing Day, and have taken one point from a possible nine having also drawn 0-0 with Everton on December 22.

The Blues' great start to life under the Italian means we are still in fourth though, just one point below third-place Arsenal and two points below Nottingham Forest in second.

And Maresca felt tonight was just one of those nights you can have in football.

He said 'No, tonight's game, I don't think it's physical or condition. When you play and you don't create chances, you don't create nothing, and you are not dangerous, then you can say we probably we struggled physically, we are not good enough, or we are not fresh.

'But when you create so many chances, the post, the amount of chances, the VAR; I think we have so many chances in the first half. In the second half, we started in the same way. We have two clear chances and then the second goal kills the game. It is just a matter that sometimes it is not the right day for us.'