Captain John Terry promised better European football as well as revenge for last season's disappointment after leading Chelsea to a lacklustre 1-0 Champions League victory over Anderlecht.
The multi-million pound London side packed with international talent earned criticism in the British press on Wednesday for the uninspired manner of their victory but Terry said it was too early in the season for players to have reached their peak.
"We've not hit our momentum yet though we are still getting results," Terry said.
"In the next few games the goals and the football will come. Individually we played very well but the togetherness and the rhythm is not quite there."
Terry's England team mate Frank Lampard scored after a 19th minute free kick with a viciously swerving strike that completely wrongfooted Anderlecht keeper Daniel Zitka.
Anderlecht came to Stamford Bridge to defend. They enjoyed only 36 per cent of the possession but manager Frank Vercauteren said Chelsea offered them no surprises.
Terry said teams were showing Chelsea a lot of respect. "They put a lot of bodies in front of us...but we're patient the fans are patient and the results are coming," he said.
Despite their lack of excitement, Chelsea have enjoyed a perfect start to the season with six wins and no goals conceded.
| |||||||||||
Chelsea can expect a full, and hostile, house at Anfield when they meet title holders Liverpool, who beat Real Betis 2-1 on Tuesday, in their next match in Group G on September 28.
It was Liverpool who put them out of the competition in the semi-finals last season with a single, disputed goal, the second year in succession Chelsea had bowed out at that stage.
"It was a terrible night and bad memories for everybody. This is our opportunity to put it right," Terry said.