NATHAN Ake admitted Cherries’ defeat at the hands of his former club had been a bitter pill to swallow.

Ake and his team-mates turned in a solid defensive display at Stamford Bridge, only to be undone by late goals from Pedro and Eden Hazard.

The 23-year-old, who swept the board with player-of-the-year awards last season, has again starred as Cherries have made an impressive start to 2018-19.

Ake told the Daily Echo: “We defended well for 75 minutes and it was tough to take when they scored their first goal so late and then the second one even later.

“We came here with a game plan to be compact but to also give them high pressure and we did that a few times.

“We caught them a few times and, when we had to dig deep, we did. We didn’t let them create too much in the first half.

“We were a little too deep sometimes in the second half but it was hard to get out with all their talent.

“But, overall, I thought we defended well and conceding the deflected first goal left us chasing the game at the end.”

Ake and Callum Wilson both squandered excellent chances to open the scoring as Cherries looked to repeat their January win at Stamford Bridge.

Wilson fired off target in the first half before Ake missed from close range after Steve Cook had flicked on a corner from Diego Rico in the second half.

“To be honest, I didn’t even see the ball,” said Ake. “It went through a few people and I just stuck out my leg.

“The ball hit my foot and it could have gone anywhere. I wanted it to go in the goal but it didn’t so I was disappointed with that.

“Callum’s chance was a hard one but also a very good chance. If you come to places like this, you need to take those chances if you are going to win and we know that.”

Despite the defeat – Cherries’ first in the Premier League since they went down 2-1 at Southampton in April – Ake says they can take great encouragement from their start.

Wins against Cardiff and West Ham, coupled with a draw against Everton, have yielded seven points from their first four games – a tally which took nine matches to reach last season.

Ake added: “We have started very well and everyone is happy. We gave a good account of ourselves against Chelsea and need to keep it going. We have the international break now and will then look at Leicester.

“The quality in the Premier League is getting higher every year. Clubs like Chelsea again signed some very good players but the smaller teams bought a lot of good players. It means every game is tough.

“But we invested well and have started well. The team is looking positive and we just need to keep it going."