Liam Rosenior believes a lack of mental freshness in the final third, coupled with a defensive lapse, was what cost the Blues against Newcastle United.
We made a bright start to today’s contest at Stamford Bridge and looked the more threatening side during the opening quarter-hour. However, Newcastle broke the deadlock through their first genuine attack, as Joe Willock broke through and squared for Anthony Gordon to finish.
That enabled the Magpies to drop deep and frustrate Rosenior’s side. Still, chances came as Cole Palmer and Liam Delap were both denied by good saves from Aaron Ramsdale, while Reece James struck the post in second-half stoppage time.
Despite our efforts, the game ended in defeat. And after the 1-0 defeat, Rosenior highlighted where he felt the points slipped away from his side.
He said: ‘In the first 15-to-20 minutes, I think anyone watching the game would say which way the game was headed. We had control, we had domination, we created chances and moments. But then the goal gave Newcastle the energy they needed to see out the game in the way they wanted to play.
‘For me, it’s two aspects. One, we lacked a little bit of mental freshness in the final third; a combination, the right decision or that bit of quality in the right moment. And the second thing we need to make sure is that if we’re not going to score, then the other team doesn’t score.
‘The disappointing thing today, for me, is we haven’t kept a clean sheet when Newcastle, if they’re being honest, didn’t really create much. We gift them the goal and that’s something I really, really need to solve for us to improve in the future.’
Today’s result leaves the Blues fifth in the Premier League table, although Liverpool and Brentford, who sit sixth and seventh, are in action tomorrow and on Monday.
And in the race to secure Champions League football for next season, Rosenior has emphasised there is still a lot of football to play.
He said: ‘Today is a blow but there are going to be plenty of twists and turns. I showed the players the league table up until today, in terms of my time working with this group, we’re third in the league. It feels like sometimes it’s not that, but that’s the case. 

‘We’re not out of it. The last league game we played, we won 4-1 at Aston Villa. Today was a really difficult day, a frustrating day, because we didn’t get the result we wanted. But I still think there is a consistency in our performances.’