Ben Chilwell believes Chelsea are running out of time to save their season after defeat in the Champions League.
The Blues lost 1-0 at Borussia Dortmund after Karim Adeyemi's devastating counter-attacking goal in the second half of the last-16 first-leg tie.
Graham Potter's side were wasteful, despite dominating much of last night's match, consigning them to a run of just two wins in 13 games.
With the second leg at Stamford Bridge on March 7, Chilwell thinks it is now or never to save his club from a dismal season.
He said: "I don't think it is luck. There are no excuses. We played well tonight, but if we want to go far, then we need to play even better. We have a lot of new players who we're trying to integrate.
"Unfortunately, that takes time, but we also don't have time, but we're trying our best to work hard and put that right. We've got a big game at the weekend and a second leg at Stamford Bridge. We've got to try and put that right."
The defender made his first start in more than three months, lasting 71 minutes before coming off for Marc Cucurella.
His return, along with Reece James, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Wesley Fofana after injury, should help results turn, but the club has only one win in 2023.
Tenth in the League and out of both domestic cups, the left-back can point to positives in performance, but believes it is meaningless without the results. He said: "We'd have loved to have won or take the clean sheet.
“They took their chance, we didn't take ours, that is what happens at this level. We lost and, in knockout competition, winning is the only thing that matters. We go into the second leg with positives, knowing we've come here and played well, threatened and created chances.
"When you look at the talent of the team, we want to be free flowing and play exciting football and scores lots of goals. Tonight was a lot more like that, especially in the second half. It just was the final ball or shot wasn't quite there. All to play for at the Bridge."
Now, with managerless bottom-of-the-table Southampton coming to west London on Saturday, the Blues must win or risk a backlash from fans.
Chilwell added: "Our fans were excellent today and are wherever we go. We're working hard to repay them. We've got an exciting squad and I'm sure we'll turn it around soon."
