Roberto Di Matteo has apologised to Schalke 04 supporters for the 'brutal' 5-0 mauling by Chelsea in the Champions League last night.
John Terry opened the scoring after just two minutes in Gelsenkirchen on a night that saw Di Matteo come up against the club that sacked him in 2012.
Willian and an own goal from Jan Kirchhoff helped Jose Mourinho's side into a 3-0 half-time lead, before Didier Drogba and Ramires added gloss to the scoreline afterwards.
"When you concede in the first minute, the match becomes even more difficult than it already was," Di Matteo told Sky Sports News.
"We gave them too much respect and gave them space and they exploited that brutally. We did not win enough duels and we were too far away to recover balls.
"It is a big problem when you give Chelsea's players so much space. I am sorry we performed like this in front of our fans."
The result leaves Di Matteo's side third in Group G and two points behind second-placed Sporting Lisbon, who face pool winners Chelsea in London on the final matchday next month.
Shane Callaghan
