Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho admits his players lacked motivation after his side lost 3-0 at West Bromwich Albion.
Already crowned champions, the Blues suffered their third Premier League defeat of the season in a game that saw midfielder Cesc Fabregas sent off for kicking the ball at Chris Brunt.
"This is a consequence of being champions so early," Mourinho explained.
"The ideal scenario is to be champions and to not play again - go home, have holidays and not play again.
"When you have three more matches to play, what has happened to Bayern Munich can happen - lose three in three – and what is happening to us can happen, one point in two matches.
"I don't blame the players.
"When you play since August in the top of your motivation, concentration, commitment, feeling every three days the pressure to win and get the result, and then you are champions, you breathe and everything changes. It's difficult to play at that level.
"Let's blame the players a little bit, let's blame myself, and let's blame the top contenders for the title because they were not good enough to fight with us until the end.
"If today we needed this game to be champions, I am not saying we would win, but I am saying we would compete at a higher level to win."
