Branislav Ivanovic: Chelsea need to 'wake up' after poor start to the season

Stuck in a rut: Chelsea's players have suffered back-to-back defeats
Sam Long14 September 2015

Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic has urged Jose Mourinho's side to 'wake up' after suffering their third defeat of the season against Everton on Saturday afternoon.

The reigning Premier League champions' title defence is in jeopardy as they are languishing in 17th place in the table after a 3-1 loss at Goodison Park courtesy of Steven Naismith's perfect hat trick.

The Blues are already 11 points adrift of early pacesetters Manchester City ahead of next weekend's London derby against Arsenal and need to reverse their fortunes before any more ground is lost.

Ivanovic, who has not enjoyed an impressive start to the campaign on an individual note, has called on Chelsea to get their season back on track with a victory against Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

Stu Forster/Getty Images

"We need one big win to come back to our way. We are not playing as badly as the results are showing but we have to wake up," he told Chelsea TV.

The Serbian defender is adamant that Chelsea need to treat the group clash against the Israeli club as if it were a final to ensure that a positive result in achieved.

Five things we learnt from Chelsea's defeat to Everton

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"I think at the moment we are being punished for all our mistakes. The only way we can change is to work hard and be ready for the next game, so it is like a final and we have to play like a final.

"The next game is very important for us. It is a new competition and it is time to change all this situation. I hope we will start winning the games soon."

Maccabi Tel Aviv represent the least formidable opponent in Chelsea's Champions League group and anything other than three points at Stamford Bridge in midweek could see the players' self confidence sapped even further prior to the Gunners' visit.

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