Chelsea FC vs Crystal Palace: Post-Match Reflections
Chelsea FC continued their terrible start with a loss to Crystal Palace, here are some post-match reflections
Four points from the first four games of the season…four points from a corresponding set of fixtures that produced 7 points last season (Swansea home, Manchester City away, West Brom away and Crystal Palace home)…8 points behind Man City in 1st place after just 4 games…13th in the table (just 2 points above the relegation zone)…worst start to a season since 1971…
Ahem.
2nd worst start to a season by a defending champion…first EPL home defeat since April 2014 (2nd EPL home defeat under Jose Mourinho)…leaky defence…lethargic midfield…limited creativity in attack…weak back-up options…injury prone strikers…tough set of upcoming fixtures (Everton away, Arsenal home, Newcastle away, Southampton home)…
The most optimistic of supporters (Pat Nevin included) would be hard-pressed to find many reasons for optimism considering how poorly Chelsea have started the season. Even the introduction of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Kenedy seemed more like a ploy by Jose Mourinho to show how limited Chelsea’s bench is than an actual interest in blooding the youngsters for the future.
Saturday’s deserved 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge showed how far away the Blues are from the team that began the 2014/2015 season. That the club have not won any of their last 4 home games in the league should be another major cause for concern. Here are my reflections on a massively disappointing afternoon of football…
Next: Limited Creativity