Wesley Fofana believes Chelsea must find a way of killing games if they are to reach the top four in the Premier League after drawing 2-2 with Bournemouth on Tuesday.
David Brooks opened the scoring for Bournemouth before Cole Palmer's penalty and Enzo Fernandez's fine finish put Chelsea into a 23rd-minute lead at Stamford Bridge.
However, just like at Aston Villa last week, the Blues could not hold on as another long throw from Antoine Semenyo was not dealt with, allowing Justin Kluivert to equalise.
Enzo Maresca's team dominated the second half, producing an expected goals (xG) total of 1.13 from their nine shots, but were unable to find a way past Djordje Petrovic.
That dominance came after Bournemouth had 14 shots in the first half, the most Chelsea have faced in the first half of a home Premier League match on record (from 2003-04).
And the result means Chelsea have now dropped 15 points from winning positions in the top flight this season, more than any other side – Bournemouth are second with 13.
"It was a tough game. Good game. We try to give everything but when you concede two goals like this, it's complicated at this level," Fofana said.
"We didn't kill the game in the second half. We had chances but didn't score. It's difficult. We played well tonight.
"We were solid, we conceded two goals, of course, but we played well. We need to continue like this.
"Throw-ins, we concede two goals, it's the same. It's everyone, we need to do better. We need to analyse and progress from that.
"We need to kill the game. We need to score. We had chances but didn't score. It's not only the forward players, it's everyone.
"Everyone tries, but sometimes it's like this. We need to progress from this, we need to kill the games more. When we have chances, we need to score."
2-2 - This is just the second time that Chelsea have scored and conceded 2+ goals in the opening 30 minutes of a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge (previously v Burnley in April 2019).
Chelsea's poor run of form in the league has seen them drop to fifth, having managed just one win from their last seven matches in the competition (D4 L2).
The gap to fourth-placed Liverpool could widen to five points if Arne Slot's side beat Leeds United on New Year's Day, with Manchester City up next for the Blues on January 4.
And Fofana's concerns were echoed by Chelsea assistant Willy Caballero, who replaced Enzo Maresca on post-match media duties due to the Italian feeling unwell.
"Enzo [Maresca] isn't feeling well. He didn't feel well the last two days but still made training and made the game today," Caballero told Sky Sports.
"I took his position just to clarify that he isn't feeling well enough to do the rest of the stuff that the manager has to do, so I'm here instead."
On Chelsea's performance, Caballero added: "It was a crazy first half. We turned the score around but then conceded a goal, so we need to improve and correct immediately.
"The players showed up and created the build-up and the open play was on point. It was perfect, we created chances and had chances in the second half too.
"Unfortunately, we couldn't win the game and it feels a little bit disappointing. We did better things than Bournemouth to get the three points.
"But we only have one point because we conceded two goals today. The final product was just missing because we arrived in the box and got many crosses off.
"We are improving in certain areas but we still need to learn to kill games and maintain the score when we are winning.
"It is always frustrating to concede from set pieces but it is part of the game. When you concede two in the same game though, it is tough."