'We have to be harsh on ourselves' - Mount says Chelsea learned 'tough lesson' against Arsenal

Chelsea star Mason Mount says he and his team-mates have to be ruthless as they seek to bounce back from a derby thumping by Arsenal.

The Blues started the Boxing Day clash at the Emirates as strong favourites to take three points but were instead the victims of a 3-1 defeat.

England midfielder Mount wants to see Chelsea put the defeat behind them as quickly as possible and offered no excuse for the display.

“We have to be harsh on ourselves. We can’t start a game like that and expect not to be 2-0 down at half-time. It is a tough lesson and we need to learn that and we need to do better the next time,” he said to the club’s official website.

“It is something where we need to look at ourselves as players. We didn’t start the game anywhere near what we should be. We are representing Chelsea, we’re a big club and we really need to look at ourselves as players and say that was not good enough. We know that it is a big London derby and we need to start the game way better than we did.”

He is backing his side to bounce back when they play Aston Villa on Monday.

“We are big players so we can get together and really bounce back after that performance,” he added.

“It is probably better we have that quick turnaround because now we look at another game. The Arsenal one is gone, there are still big things we need to work on but now we have that one day before our next game and we can put it in the back of our heads and really go into Villa with a strong mindset, starting the game very well and hopefully doing well in the game.”

Frank Lampard’s side presently reside seventh in the Premier League standings, having played the full complement of 15 games.

They are, however, in the midst of a disappointing spell of form, with three defeats in their last four.

After they close out their 2020 calendar against Villa, they can look forward to their first game of the New Year against Manchester City.