Azpilicueta admits to low mood in Chelsea camp

A run of three matches without a victory has left Chelsea struggling to keep its spirits up, Cesar Azpilicueta has said.

Published : Oct 19, 2017 21:01 IST

Conte looks delfated as Chelsea throw away a two-goal advantage against Roma in the Champions League

Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta has admitted to morale being low within the Chelsea squad following a recent poor run of form.

Chelsea held a 2-0 lead over Roma at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League on Wednesday before needing to rely on a last-gasp equaliser from Eden Hazard to snatch a point after a strike from Aleksandar Kolarov, and a brace from Edin Dzeko, put Roma ahead with 20 minutes to go.

READ: Hazard brace rescues Chelsea after Dzeko double

Azpilicueta, as quoted by Standard Sport after the 3-3 draw, said: "The mood at the moment is not the best.

"To come back into the game to get a point is big for the team, to show the character and that we won't give up. We had the game in our hands when we were 2-0 up, but we also had it lost when we were 3-2 down."

The result, together with a shock 2-1 defeat to bottom-of-the-table Crystal Palace and the 1-0 home loss to Manchester City, means Antonio Conte's side faces some pressure when it squares off against Watford at the weekend.

Azpilicueta knows the importance of Saturday's game following its recent winless streak.

"The reality is we have gone three games without a win and we will try to get back to winning ways on Saturday," he said.

"It is true we are not in our best moment. We came into the game after two consecutive defeats in the Premier League."

Chelsea goes into Saturday's clash against the Hornets with a slew of injuries. David Luiz was substituted at home to Roma with a calf problem and Conte revealed that off-season signing Tiemoue Bakayoko is suffering from pain in his groin.

ALSO READ: 'David Luiz experiment failed,' says Conte

The manager is also without N'Golo Kante, Victor Moses and new signing Danny Drinkwater, who is yet to make his Chelsea debut following thigh and calf issues.