Chelsea’s string of underwhelming performances continued as they suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge in their sixth Premier League match of the season.

Following the match, Chelsea’s coach Mauricio Pochettino refrained from criticizing the referee or Malo Gusto, whose red card in the 58th minute was considered a pivotal moment.

“We cannot point fingers at VAR or the referee,” remarked the Argentine. “I won’t lay blame or make any accusations against Malo Gusto.”

Chelsea’s offensive woes persist as they struggle to capitalize on promising opportunities. Nicolas Jackson, who has been disappointing this season with his fifth yellow card and subsequent suspension for the next match, added to the frustration of the home fans.

“A player like Nico [Jackson] is still young, adjusting to the Premier League, and in a learning process; he needs time,” Pochettino remarked.

“We experienced a stroke of bad luck,” the 51-year-old coach continued. “How many chances did we create similar to Aston Villa’s? They took shots, we blocked them, then they took another shot, and the ball hit the post before finding the net. As for us, how many one-on-one opportunities did we have against [Emiliano] Martinez? We were unfortunate, but it happens. We must accept the reality.”