Enzo Maresca has called Chelsea’s defeat to Brighton & Hove “the worst performance” since he took charge of the club.
The Blues were beaten 3-0 by the Seagulls on Friday, their second successive loss at the Amex Stadium having been knocked out at the FA Cup fourth-round stage a week earlier by the same opponents.
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Chelsea could drop out of the top four on Saturday if either Manchester City or Newcastle United triumph when they face each other at Etihad Stadium.
“Probably since I arrived that is the worst performance, especially in the moment we are in,” Maresca told the club’s official website.
“We are fourth in the league and winning tonight you can go one point from third and make the gap to the rest bigger.
“The performance is not one you want to offer, so we are very upset, and especially very sorry for the fans who were here, and in general to our fans, because in this moment you cannot offer this kind of performance with 14 games to go, now 13 games to go. In terms of desire, we need to show more.”
'We need to finish in the best way'
It is a second consecutive away loss in the Premier League for Chelsea, who have not triumphed on the road since beating Tottenham Hotspur on 8 December.
Just a day after forward Nicolas Jackson was ruled out for up to eight weeks with a hamstring injury, Chelsea suffered another blow when Noni Madueke was forced off with the same problem against Brighton in the 21st minute.
“We arrived quite well in the last third but then we struggled to create chances. Until a week or two ago that is something we were doing well," Maresca added.
“In this moment the bad feeling is that we look like we can concede chances easily, and we struggle to create chances.
"There are many reasons why, the injuries to our nines are part of that, but we have 13 games to go, and we need to finish in the best way.”
'It was a special action from him'
Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler was full of praise for his side, in particular scorers Kaoru Mitoma and Yankuba Minteh after their goals helped see off Chelsea.
Mitoma’s stunning individual goal, his second in the last week against Chelsea, set Brighton on their way, while Minteh struck in either half
"Sometimes you can't explain the things from special players. It was a special action from him and he deserves it because he works hard every day. He is fully committed to this club and I am glad he got it,” Hurzeler said of Mitoma.
On Minteh's influence, he added: "I think he tries to improve in every aspect of the game. Defensive work is key and the attacking players have to be part of it. When you commit to the team, I am convinced you will get the chances in the transition and he did."
