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
Limited Creativity
Cesc Fabregas has been criticized for his lack of defensive input, but that is not the only area where he has been lacklustre this season. On Saturday, he did not create a single chance despite topping the passing charts. He was dispossessed almost every time he ventured into Palace’s defensive third, and also missed Chelsea’s best chance of the game when he managed to hit a rebound shot straight at Eagles ‘keeper Alex McCarthy.
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Defensively, he contributed next to nothing as he again left the equally poor Branislav Ivanovic exposed to an onslaught from Bakary Sako and Wilfried Zaha down the left.
Eden Hazard, meanwhile, seems like he is either suffering from fatigue, tired of being the only real attacking threat, protecting himself from injuries or has been instructed by Jose Mourinho to tone down his creativity (probably as a ploy to force the board to sign more players). Whatever the case may be, he has not been performing at even 40% of his level last season, which in turn has affected the team going forward. Against Palace, he was anonymous during his 90 minutes on the pitch, failing to register a single shot on target or create a single chance.
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Willian was Willian…lots of running with no end product. On Saturday, his 2 shots at goal didn’t even come close to hitting the target while he misplaced more passes in Palace’s defensive third than any other Chelsea player.
Pedro was clearly Chelsea’s best attacker, but even he didn’t fare much better. He left his shooting boots in the dressing room, failing to hit the target with any of his 4 shots at goal (although 2 of them were blocked by the impressive Palace backline). He does, though, deserve credit for his fantastic cross that set-up Chelsea’s only goal of the game.
Diego Costa spent more time complaining and arguing with officials than he did playing football, which was reflected by the fact that he managed only one shot at goal all game.
In fact, Falcao took more shots in just over 10 minutes than Costa did in his 90 minutes on the pitch. He is costing the Blues more than he is offering, which is very disappointing considering the fact that he the is best of Chelsea’s current striking options.
Next: Mourinho’s Misguided Loyalty
Mourinho’s Misguided Loyalty
In the post-match press conference after the game, Mourinho clearly acknowledged the fact that he was more to blame for the defeat than any other factor. He indicated that his trust in the quality of certain players has not been reciprocated, that 2-3 of his trusted players had failed to perform on Saturday and that he made the mistake of not taking off at least one of them during the game.
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Even though he failed to mention the players in question when prompted, it is clear even to the most ignorant of football followers that 2 of the players are Ivanovic and Fabregas, both of whom, along with Nemanja Matic, have been the worst players in the team so far this season.
But citing underperforming players as the main issue is typical Mourinho nonsense. His persistence in using Cesar Azpilicueta down the left has been one of Chelsea’s major problems. Dave (as he is fondly called), is a class act no doubt. But the Spaniard’s inability to use his left foot means that he offers next to nothing going forward, which is probably one of the main reasons why Chelsea (and Hazard) have struggled to be more of a threat on that flank.
It is also more baffling when you consider the fact that Ivanovic (whom Mourinho has named vice captain) has been pretty terrible playing Dave’s preferred right-back position and Baba Rahman (an actual left-back signed for £21million) was seated on the bench but didn’t come on at all.
It is for this same reason that Filipe Luis was forced to leave Chelsea just before the season commenced, yet Mourinho doesn’t seem to have learned anything whatsoever. It is pretty clear that he is not the only one to blame as the board’s lacklustre attitude to dealing with transfers has played a part.
The Blues only recently missed out on the chance to sign Monaco’s Aymen Abdennour, who joined Valencia for £15m despite indicating a preference for a move to Chelsea. But Mourinho’s stubbornness and misguided loyalty to certain players is pulling the team backwards, and he may become the first managerial casualty of the season if things do not improve soon.
Next: Wickham/Delaney Masterclass
Wickham/Delaney Masterclass
Sako may have scored and assisted both goals, but Connor Wickham was the catalyst for Crystal Palace’s threat going forward. The youngster seems to enjoy playing against the Blues and was again instrumental on Saturday. He is the only player in the EPL that can boast of defeating Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea at Stamford Bridge twice (he scored the first goal in Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat to Sunderland in April 2014, Mourinho’s first EPL home defeat).
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He was given little change by Kurt Zouma and Gary Cahill and spent most of the game playing with his back to goal. But he used the attention to his advantage, pulling Cahill all over the place and giving the other attacking players the space to cause damage, which was reflected in both goals.
He even had a good chance to score when he hit a weak volley from Yannick Bolasie’s cross just before Chelsea netted the equaliser. However, his movement in general caused the Blues backline a lot of problems and he has every reason to be pleased with his contribution to the victory.
Damien Delaney, the Eagles’ captain, was a real beast at the other end of the pitch. He made life really difficult for Diego Costa, and made an impressive tackle inside the box when Costa was poised to score. Moreover, he was always in the right place at the right time to block goal-bound efforts. He made the most blocks of any player on the pitch on Saturday, including 3 consecutive blocks from Pedro, Ivanovic and Zouma.
The Irishman marshalled the Palace backline impressively, making sure that Chelsea had little space to cause problems by keeping them compact and as close to goal as possible. Alan Pardew owes Saturday’s victory largely to the performances of both Wickham and Delaney.
Next: Poor Stamford Bridge Atmosphere
Poor Stamford Bridge Atmosphere
Incidentally, in the corresponding fixture last season Mourinho lambasted the Blues fans for not providing enough support for the players and praised the away Crystal Palace fans. On Saturday, the situation mirrored last season’s game as the Palace supporters could be heard throughout the game, while the Chelsea support was almost non-existent.
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In the aftermath of Mourinho’s criticism last season, a spokesperson for the fans came out to complain about several factors, ranging from the exorbitant cost of purchasing season tickets which means only the well-to-do fans and tourists (who are not likely to make the required noise to support the players) are able to afford them, to the overzealousness of the stewards who prevent fans from standing to support the team.
Whatever the reasons may be, the silence of the home support has been detrimental to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, especially against the so-called inferior opposition like Crystal Palace on Saturday. The Blues board may have to look into the complaints of the supporters if the situation is to improve.
Next: Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
Alan Pardew may be Mourinho’s closest pal among the coaches in the EPL, but it doesn’t seem to extend to relations on the pitch. Pardew has more victories over Mourinho than any other manager that the Portuguese has faced in the Premier League, with Saturday’s game bringing his tally to 4 wins.
Pardew has also inspired Palace to become a real force away from home, with Saturday’s result making it his 8th win in 10 away games as Crystal Palace manager. He seems to have finally put behind him the difficulties he faced in his last few months at Newcastle United.
Many have labelled Mourinho a monster, arrogant, deceptive, deceitful and many more negative adjectives. But the loyalty and affection he generates from the majority of the players he has managed cannot be questioned. He showed why on Saturday when he went to pay his condolences to Yannick Bolasie, who lost his father a few weeks ago.
Jose’s attention to every detail, no matter how little, as well as his unending interest in the affairs of his charges, football related or not, makes him the special manager that he is. This is why even the players who claim to despise him cannot resist the urge to play for him when the opportunity arises, like Samuel Eto’o and Cesc Fabregas.
It is high time that Mourinho does something about Branislav Ivanovic. The 31-year old Serbian has had a nightmare start to the season and has unarguably been Chelsea’s worst player so far this season. However, the signing of Baba Rahman from Augsburg early this month means that the Blues no longer have to continue watching Ivanovic being burned by every Tom, Dick and Harry (or more appropriately, every Montero, Sterling and Zaha). Mourinho now has to do what is best for the team by moving Azpilicueta to his more suited right-back role and making full use of his expensive left-back arrival.
Chelsea need to find a way to get out of this early season slump in performances, and soon, if they want to have any realistic chance of winning a major trophy this year (and by major trophy I mean the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup!).
Hazard needs to get out of the funk he is currently in and get back to the player whom Mourinho declared as the 2nd best player in the world behind Lionel Messi. Oscar, meanwhile, needs to start fulfilling the potential that allowed Mourinho to sell Juan Mata. In general, all the players need to start justifying the faith that Mourinho has placed in their abilities to better their performances of last season.
Finally, Chelsea’s board need to start making contingency plans about dealing with the imminent exits of John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic, because on evidence of their performances so far this season, it is looking less likely that they will be offered new contracts for the next campaign.
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