Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish felt fitness was key to Chelsea's Asia Trophy victory last night.
McLeish was thrilled his team never gave up despite several being "out on their feet."
He also insisted the "full sharpness" of his players will be there for all to see when they face their first Barclays Premier League clash.
He told Villa's website: "One of the things is fitness and we were clearly behind Chelsea in terms of match fitness.
"They have played six games now and that's our third.
"I thought our players looked a bit weary if I'm honest but we still managed to dig in right until the end.
"We had a few efforts in the second half. Gabby had a chance going through where he couldn't quite get the ball out of the skies and Benty has had a chance also.
"Emile had a crack at goal just before the end too.
"It was pleasing to see the guys fighting until the very end, despite the fact a lot of them were running on empty.
"It's great from an educational point of view when we go through the video again and go through things with one or two of the players.
"But it was more so the fitness elements. We have a bit of catching up to do and we have to work hard to get the sharpness now. It's about getting our sharpness back.
"We were one-down with a minute gone! If you do that against a team like Chelsea it's very difficult because they keep the ball so well and you find yourself chasing shadows.
"But we gamely went about it. Some players have yet to find their full sharpness but that will come."
