Aston Villa boss Dean Smith defended his players after their 3-0 defeat at Chelsea.
Romelu Lukaku struck twice, with Mateo Kovacic also scoring for the hosts.
But Smith said: "I was pleased with our performance up until the second goal, but we didn't take our chances. That took the wind out of our sails and we allowed a team with the quality they have got to open up the pitch and play keep-ball.
"I felt it was an unjust scoreline but we've got a better squad of players this season and the depth and talent we've got allows us to play in Chelsea's half and that's what we did.
"I believe in this group of players that we've got and we can go toe-to-toe with these teams now whereas two years ago we weren't able to."
On quarantine rules that saw Villa be without goalkeeper Emi Martinez and winger Emi Buendia, Smith added: "We're all frustrated with the whole situation. We're between a rock and a hard place.
"They have Fifa World Cup qualifiers and you can't deny your players to play in that when they've been called up. It's [down to] the governing bodies, but we also have to deal with governments as well."
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