Chelsea news: Arriving back from Madrid at 4am didn’t help our performance - Cahill

The Blues also lost in-form striker Alvaro Morata to a hamstring injury in the first-half.

Ex-Chelsea man Kevin De Bruyne scored the winner with a crisp strike from outside the area.

But Cahill believes landing back in London in the early hours after beating Atletico Madrid played a part in their lethargic performance.

“It was a tough fixture for us to play, especially after coming back at four o’clock in the morning on Thursday,” he told Chelsea's website. 

“It’s not an excuse but it’s a factor. 

“We worked very hard for each other but we were a fraction off it and they were very, very good. 

“Last season we were very confident playing at home so we will look to get back to that.”

Antonio Conte’s men didn’t have to contend with European football last season as they romped to the Premier League title.

The Blues skipper stated that losing Morata so early in the game was disappointing, but admitted the better team won.

“You look at the way he has started his career at Chelsea and it was a huge blow for us to lose him early in the game,” said Cahill.

”It affected elements of the game for us. His hold-up play as well as his finishing has been fantastic. 

“Tactically we were frustrating them early on. We defended well and we’d win the ball at the back but by doing that we had a lot of men in our own third so it was difficult to breakout.