Asmir Begovic: 'Chelsea need a boost'

Asmir Begovic has claimed that Chelsea are looking for a morale-boosting result after losing 3-0 to Manchester City on Sunday.

The defeat at the Etihad Stadium comes after last weekend's 2-2 draw with Swansea City, and the defending champions are already five points behind title rivals City.

Begovic admits that Chelsea struggled to match Manuel Pellegrini's side for much of the contest, but he remains hopeful that they will bounce back against West Bromwich Albion next Sunday.

"We came to get a win or at least a point. Man City had a point to prove and they came on aggressively from the start. We didn't match that intensity in the first half, but we responded and in the second half had some chances and were more in control of the game," he told the club's website.

"If you don't score it's difficult though and unfortunately they sucker-punched us with the second goal which killed the game. All we can do is get past this start, improve on the training ground, get our sharpness going and look to West Brom.

"It's still early so we have time to pick up the points we have lost but we need to get some results in the next couple of games to get our season going and then hopefully we can push on for the rest of the season."

Begovic is likely to retain his starting spot for at least two more games as Thibaut Courtois serves his suspension.