Chelsea FC v Southampton: Post-Match Reflections
Final Thoughts
Mourinho may blame his players, the officials, the FA, the weather and every other external body under the sun, but he won’t blame himself. However, his decision to keep selecting the underwhelming Ivanovic, who has played every minute of every Chelsea game in the EPL this season despite being the club’s worst performer, makes his point pretty moot. Until he makes the decision to move Azpilicueta to his preferred right back position, where he excelled against Maccabi Tel Aviv in the UCL, and reinstates Abdul Baba Rahman, who has started in 2 of the Blues most impressive performances so far (the 4-0 and 4-1 thrashing of both Maccabi Tel Aviv and Walsall away from home) Chelsea’s defensive frailties will remain.
The Blues have now lost 4 of their 8 EPL games so far this season, which is already one more than last season’s total. They have also conceded 17 goals, which is already over half the total conceded in the whole of the last campaign. Mourinho has also lost 5 of his last 10 matches as Chelsea boss; he lost just 5 of his previous 59 prior to this dreadful run of form! The boss seems to have lost the plot completely as he doesn’t seem to have a handle on a situation he clearly isn’t familiar with.
His efforts to talk up the support he has from his players and the Chelsea board, coupled with the club’s statement on its website giving him its full backing indicates that he is facing a lot of pressure behind the scenes. Reports of a rift between him and certain key players no longer seem unfounded, especially with his recent treatment of Nemanja Matic.
Chelsea’s next EPL game against Aston Villa may just be the perfect opportunity for the Blues’ current brightest youth prospect, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, to get his first EPL start of the season. That is if Mourinho’s post-match comments after the Southampton defeat can be taken seriously. It is a high stakes tie against a struggling side (because despite the support from the Chelsea hierarchy, anything less than 3 points against Aston Villa could mean the sack for Jose Mourinho). If the 19-year old can put up an impressive performance to help the Blues get the win that would grant Mourinho a stay of execution, he may just become the Happy One’s favourite player.
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