Chelsea’s start against Forest ‘not acceptable’ – McFarlane

Interim boss Calum McFarlane admitted Chelsea’s start was “not acceptable” after their poor run of form continued with a 3-1 home defeat against Nottingham Forest.

The loss was Chelsea’s sixth consecutive league defeat and their fourth in a row at Stamford Bridge, officially ending any remaining hopes of Champions League qualification.

Forest, who made eight changes for the match, scored twice in the opening quarter of an hour.

“I thought the first 15 minutes we were nowhere near the level we needed to be,” McFarlane said

“The early goal was a bit of a sucker punch and we didn’t seem to really recover from that moment. Ultimately, the first 15 minutes was not acceptable.”

Chelsea had opportunities to get back into the game, with Enzo Fernandez hitting the post and Cole Palmer missing a penalty, but the damage was done during a sluggish opening period.

McFarlane added: “The manner in which the two goals were conceded really set us back and gave ourselves a mountain to climb.

“You can’t do that at this level, especially against a team that is fighting for their life.

“We’ll review the game, try and find the reason why, and try to make sure that the performance level is of a higher level against Liverpool.”