Crystal Palace midfielder James McArthur felt they pushed Chelsea all the way during Saturday's defeat.
McArthur says Palace made it hard for Chelsea to control the game at Selhurst Park, but that the visitors were clinical in scoring a late winning goal.
“I'm just gutted to be honest," he told Palace TV in his post-match interview. “It was a good performance. We were right in the game, we had chance but they've been clinical. It was the last moment, and there's no time to recover.
“I think we made it very tough for them. We limited their chances. I cannot remember, apart from Kante in the first-half and the goal that got chalked off, I can't remember any time when we were really stretched.
“That's credit to us, and we need to use that going forwards to get the win."
McArthur returned after a long injury lay-off, playing alongside Cheikhou Kouyaté in a new-look midfield.
“It's been a long time for myself playing," he said. “I was glad to be back out there.
“We were probably a bit deeper than normal, but I think it suited us. It made it harder for them to get in those pockets."
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