Hull City manager Steve Bruce felt Chelsea were at their best in the Tigers' 2-0 loss at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Hull were playing their first match back in the Premier League for over three years when Oscar and Frank Lampard netted in the first half and the visiting boss thought the home side performed brilliantly.
"The first 20-25 minutes was just unstoppable for us," he told Sky Sports.
"The intensity, the ground, the way it was - what a stark contrast to last season.
"The ground's right behind the new manager, the players are all ready for it and when they play with that intensity and movement and fluidity, they were just a constant threat so we had to stick at it big style.
"Thankfully in the second-half, human nature makes you take your foot off the pedal a little bit and we were better then, but in the first half-hour, not many teams could live with that intensity so for us to stick at it was terrific."
