Chelsea captain Reece James has insisted his side have only themselves to blame after surrendering a lead to lose 2-1 at home to Aston Villa. The Blues led through Joao Pedro's first-half strike but were undone by two second-half goals from substitute Ollie Watkins.
Villa, who failed to register a single shot before the break, transformed after the introduction of Watkins. The England striker equalised four minutes after coming on and then headed in from a corner to complete a comeback that extended Villa's club-record winning run to 11 consecutive victories.
James pointed to two errors that proved costly. 'We dominated for 60 or 65 minutes,' he said. 'In the first 60 they didn't create any chances, and then they get one and the dynamic changes. We have ourselves to blame. Two slight errors from us and we got punished. That's why it's the toughest league in the world.'
Head coach Enzo Maresca echoed his captain's sentiments, lamenting his side's lack of clinical finishing. 'By the time we conceded the first goal, we should have scored two or three goals,' he said. 'After we conceded, the game completely changed. We have to be clinical, and also improve how we manage the game after conceding.'
