Mood in the Chelsea camp is not the best, admits Blues defender Cesar Azpilicueta after frustrating Roma draw... but believes result was 'big'
- Chelsea squandered a two-goal lead against Roma on Wednesday night
- The result condemned the Blues to their third successive game without a win
- Eden Hazard scored his first Champions League goal since 2015 to save the draw
- Cesar Azpilicueta took the positives from the result after trailing 3-2
- But the defender admitted his team-mates mood is bleak ahead of Watford clash
Cesar Azpilicueta has admitted morale at Chelsea is low as a result of their three-match winless run.
Chelsea, since winning impressively at Atletico Madrid last month, have lost successive Premier League games to Manchester City and Crystal Palace.
Blues head coach Antonio Conte has pointed to injuries and responded to Jose Mourinho's thinly-veiled barb after Wednesday's 3-3 draw with Roma, telling the Manchester United boss to concentrate on his own side.
Antonio Conte cuts a glum figure at Stamford Bridge after Chelsea squander two-lead
It came down to Eden Hazard to salvage a point for the Blues in a 3-3 draw with Roma
Eden Hazard's second goal of the season earned the draw against Roma which ensured Chelsea avoided three straight losses for the first time in Conte's Stamford Bridge tenure.
While Azpilicueta described the battling point as 'big', the Spain defender wants a win against Watford on Saturday to boost confidence.
Eden Hazard's Wednesday night brace were his first goals in the Champions League since 2015
Hazard completed a swift Chelsea move to save his team-mates embarrassment (Match Zone)
'The mood at the moment is not the best,' Azpilicueta said. 'It's true that we are not in our best moment. We came into the game after two consecutive defeats in the Premier League.
'We had the game in our hands when we were 2-0 up, but we also had it lost when we were 3-2 down.
'We managed to get a point, we are top of the group and we will keep fighting.
'To come back into the game to get a point (against Roma) is big for the team, to show the character and that we won't give up.
'But the reality is that we have gone three games without a win and we will try to get back to winning ways on Saturday.'
Cesar Azpilicueta took positives from the result after Hazard earned the Blues a point
But despite salvaging a draw the Spaniard admitted the mood is struggling of late
But despite their woes Chelsea remain top of group C and two points clear of Roma
Chelsea lead their Champions League group by two points ahead of Roma, with a trip to the Eternal City on October 31.
Hazard, who scored his first Chelsea goals of the season and his first in the Champions League since March 2015, told Chelsea TV: 'I think if we want to finish the job we need to win there. We know what to do. We want to finish the group stage as soon as possible and be the first team to be qualified.'
Chelsea's trip to Rome is followed by United's visit to Stamford Bridge on November 5 - and another return of former boss Mourinho.
Mourinho opened the verbal sparring after United's win at Benfica on Wednesday night.
He did not name names, but it was clear he was thinking of his former club Chelsea and Conte, his successor as boss, when he talked of other managers who 'cry and cry and cry' about injuries.
Conte's team will look to turn the tide with a win on Saturday against high-flyers Watford
Conte hopes David Luiz will be fit to face Watford, rather than join N'Golo Kante, Victor Moses (both hamstring) and Danny Drinkwater (calf) in missing out. Tiemoue Bakayoko (groin) could also be a doubt.
'(Luiz) felt a bit of pain in his calf, but he should be OK for Saturday, I hope,' Conte said.
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