Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has admitted that he is unsure of the character of his team following the derby defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. The Blues had remained unbeaten across all competitions since the top-flight curtain raiser but that record was put to shreds by Spurs, who beat them by a comfortable 3-1 scoreline at the Wembley on Sunday.

Speaking after the defeat, Sarri said: “I don’t know the character of the team. I think it’s very strange. [In 2014-15] 87 points, the season after 50 points.Then 93 again, then 70. Of course I hope for a reaction, first of all during training, and then in the next match. But I knew very well that we had problems, I knew very well that we had to work. Now everyone knows it. We have to work on all the reactions, I think.”

The Blues made an impressive start under their new manager and they were right at the top when the October international break came around. However, they have since gone through a patch where they have struggled to find the cutting edge upfront and this has hampered their progress with just one point coming from the previous two league matches.

As such, they have already dropped seven points behind table-toppers Manchester City and the onus could now lie on building a probable winning streak. The Blues are currently occupying the fourth position on the table with 28 points and they are holding a slender one-point advantage over arch-rivals Arsenal for the final Champions League spot.

The Blues are scheduled to face Claudio Ranieri’s Fulham in the Premier League next weekend but prior to that, they have a midweek Europa League against PAOK at Stamford Bridge. The west Londoners are already through to the knockout phase with 12 points from the opening four group stage matches but Sarri should be expecting another victory after the recent lean patch.