Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea lacked maturity after the 1-0 defeat home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon.
The Blues were competitive but wasted a host of chances before Anthony Elanga stunned Stamford Bridge by capitalising on a Moises Caciedo mistake to score.
Nicolas Jackson missed the biggest chance late on but Chelsea looked anxious late on as the youngest squad in the Premier League chased an equaliser.
Pochettino insists his side were the better team but was disappointed with how they handled certain situations.
He said: “In this type of game, I think it would help us to be more mature and to feel the competition. It is not enough to have quality but you need to compete in a different way to match their aggressivity, energy and desire.
“Of course, we were better and we can’t say we didn’t deserve more. We create and not score but that’s the procees. You need to give some time to the players.
“You know if you don’t score, it is difficult to win games.”
Chelsea will now regroup over the international break with nine players out injured and many potentially returning to face Bournemouth upon the return to club football.
Most of Pochettino’s squad will be away with their national teams but he is excited to have some of his players back, having named two goalkeepers and youngster Deivid Washington on the bench.
He added: “I only have four players [to work with over the international break] but I think it will be useful to recover some players, yes.
“I think nearly all my squad will be away so we will only have four or five. It will be useful to recover my players to have a more competitive squad to get the best results.”
