Thomas Tuchel admitted his Chelsea side was not good enough in a 1-0 home Premier League defeat by champions Manchester City on Saturday which ended Chelsea's unbeaten start to the season.
Chelsea set up to frustrate City but offered little other than defensive solidity until Gabriel Jesus broke the deadlock with a shot on the turn in the 53rd minute.
City, who had lost all their meetings with Chelsea since Tuchel took charge in January, including the Champions League final, would have won by more but for home keeper Edouard Mendy.
"We lost the game and City deserved to win. Until the goal we were very strong in the last 20 metres of the field, but only there, unfortunately," Tuchel told reporters.
"Everywhere else we were not good enough to relieve pressure and to hurt them. The performance was not complex enough.
"Overall, simply, we were not at our best level."
Chelsea did try and raise the tempo in a bid to salvage the game but it was too little too late.
"After the goal it felt a little bit like the belief in winning was bigger than the fear of losing, I don't know why. We tried to push and get the crowd behind us. It was a very emotional game but never on our highest level," Tuchel said.
City produced their best display of the season, pressing the ball relentlessly and smothering the home side who failed to register a shot on target.
Manager Pep Guardiola, a keen golf fan, said his side's teamwork reminded him of the Ryder Cup.
"Today we played for each other, ran for each other, and passed the ball for each other. Now I'm watching the Ryder Cup and I'm seeing how they play for each other. That is nice when you play football too," the Spaniard said.
"It's just three points, but the way we played was so good."
For City it was the perfect boost ahead of their midweek Champions League clash with Paris St Germain.
"It's a good way to start this fascinating week that we have ahead of us," Guardiola said.
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