Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has blamed Malo Gusto’s red card for Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Pochettino said: “First half I think we deserved a little bit more. We had the control of the game. Then in the second half we started on top of them but then with the red card the game changed. For 60 minutes with 11 against 11 and then the rest with 10 men it’s two different games.

“It was a little bit unlucky. How many chances did we have like that one for Aston Villa? We blocked the shot and then the shot comes back and the second one hits the post and goes in. For us, how many times were we one-against-one with Emi Martinez. That was a little bit unlucky also, but that happened.

“In this situation we need to accept the reality, but it was a little bit unlucky because of how many chances they created, when you take off the set-pieces. It wasn’t many. With 10 men we were forcing them to go back and we created chances. That is the situation.

“We need to be aware about what is going on but at the same time we need to be calm because the team is creating, the team is alive, the team is fighting in every single action. We cannot say that the players gave up after 70 minutes, they were fighting until the end with one players less. It’s just about working and hopefully we can change the situation as soon as possible.”