Sunday 29 October 2017 07:53, UK
Eddie Howe has admitted Bournemouth are becoming increasingly "concerned" by their Premier League form after another defeat left them 19th in the table.
Eden Hazard scored the winner for Chelsea on their visit to the Vitality Stadium as the Cherries slumped to a 1-0 loss, their seventh from their opening 10 league matches.
That poor record means they have taken just seven points so far this season and Howe concedes they must improve next month, starting with a trip to Newcastle.
"These performances can be misleading; they hurt you" said Howe. "It's a crisis in the Premier League when you lose one game. It's a commonly used word.
"We are concerned, of course we are. We have a key run of games coming up next month, particularly when you look at the games in December. We know this."
Howe said a slow start to the first half made it difficult for his team to build momentum against Chelsea, adding: "We were too passive and stood off Chelsea too much, a dangerous game to play.
"With the quality they have, they penned us in. But we came in at half-time 0-0, which was a positive, and we could change things and press the ball differently with a change of system."
The only goal of the match came after a missed clearance by Simon Francis allowed Hazard to race through and beat Asmir Begovic at his near post.
Howe said: "It wasn't just a goalkeeping error. It was a really poor goal. They had a lot of the ball, we plugged gaps and threw our bodies in the way, but to then concede from our goal-kick with a couple of errors thrown in. That was hugely disappointing."
Junior Stanislas and Benik Afobe were both forced off injured in the second half to cap a miserable evening and Howe said: "Stanislas said his groin had gone. Benik we're unsure of."
