The Spaniard praised the fighting spirit and character of Chelsea whilst also suggesting we lacked a cutting edge at times in front of the visitors’ net.

‘We were 2-0 down. We fought to come back. We wanted more, but we never lost the trust,’ the captain said post-match. ‘Mateo scored an amazing goal, Christian equaliser. We felt the second half we could push for the third goal.

‘We started really well. They couldn't make two passes. We had few chances where we could be 1-0 up. In two actions, we were 2-0 down when we were playing a very good game. We had to fight our way back. We left everything on the pitch.

‘Both teams had moments. When they were 2-0 up, they had a clear chance to score a third to kill the game. After this we played well, had a few chances, but in the last 25-30 metres, we lacked confidence, freshness.’

A point at the Bridge extends our unbeaten home run to eight matches in the Premier League, however five of these have been draws.

‘Of course [it's a good result for Man City],' stated the skipper. 'They are at the top. It's football. They've been setting the standards in the Premier League high. It was up to us to close the gap at the beginning of the season. We need to raise our level.’

The Spaniard was also on the end of a controversial refereeing decision after Sadio Mane caught him with a flailing arm just seconds into the encounter.

‘It's a clear red,' he added. 'I don't mind if it's six seconds into the game. It's a red. I don't understand.

'The first action is a clear red card. We are getting these decisions against us which could change the game.’