Crystal Palace fullback Joel Ward insists the 4-1 scoreline against Chelsea makes false reading.

Ward called Crystal Palace's game with Chelsea 'frustrating' as he spoke with the media post-match.

The Palace right-back explained that he felt the Eagles were capable of a better performance despite the calibre of their opposition and expressed his disappointment with conceding so early.

"It's tough," he told Premier League Productions. "When you go down that early on against a side like that it's always going to be a mountain to climb. I think it was a little too late by the time we started playing the [same] football we did [against Everton].

"It's frustrating to concede the goals we did. We pride ourselves on being a team that will fight and limit chances and today we really gave them the early goals."

Ward went on to explain how Palace tried to react to being two goals down after 10 minutes, saying: "We tried to adapt to give ourselves a foothold in the game. They had some wind in their tails and that was our own doing.

"We have to try to find some positives – in the second-half there were a few glimpses of what we're about, Christian [Benteke] up-top deserved his goal and when Jeff [Schlupp] came on he changed the game.

"We dust ourselves down, we go again. There's never an easy game in the Premier League. Look at the performance against Everton, look at this performance; they're very different. One week to another, the Premier League is a battle. We'll take the break now, come back fighting and make sure we try to put things right as soon as possible."