Chelsea finally dropped points this season versus a resurgent West Ham. But those dropped points have been coming for a while now.
Chelsea finally dropped points this season. It took until match day six, but it had been coming since match day two. For those who have been acting as if Sarrismo has already been fully integrated into the squad, this will be a reality check. For those who saw that this was still a work in progress, this will merely reinforce that notion.
Because Chelsea could have, and probably should have, dropped points before this. Arsenal was rampant against the Blues but could not finish. Newcastle, despite very much parking the bus, stiffed Chelsea for an entire match and nearly stole a point because of it. Bournemouth also gave Chelsea issues that they were lucky to overcome.
But the day finally came against a resurgent West Ham United. Many will use the late return to London or the lack of rotation in the Europa League as an excuse. But it is only an excuse. The team cannot lean on the tiredness excuse in September after their first midweek match. Because if that is truly a problem now, then it will be a disaster come the long winter slog.
West Ham took a note out of Newcastle and Bournemouth’s hand book. They remained solid in defense and refused to draw themselves out. When they did get the ball, they launched it forward and hoped for the best.
The Hammers took advantage of Chelsea’s ever rising counter press and caused panic at the back more and more often. Chelsea, meanwhile, found little desire to shift through the lines. The possession was sterile. And what is even worse is that when Chelsea created a chance, they often messed it up right before it could become dangerous.
Those are all things that have happened with this Chelsea side before. And while the Blues have seen positives and progression, they have yet to see perfection.
But it is not all doom and gloom. This was coming and it is nothing to be sad about. It is merely something to learn from. That it came before a double header against Liverpool is unfortunate but not earth shattering.
In his post match press conference, Maurizio Sarri acknowledged that he may need to rotate for the midweek match. He understood that Eden Hazard was far from perfect and that the team missed Pedro. If he saw how unbalanced the team was by having both Willian and Mateo Kovacic on the field then things should improve going forward.
Sarri is a good manager who has been seeing these issues coming but has yet to be punished for them. Now that he has, he can make the adjustments needed to prevent them again. The squad needs to add the trademark vertical part to Sarri’s vertical tika taka (also known as Sarrismo, occasionally Sarriball by those trying to make it sound less interesting than it is).
The dropped points were coming but now it is time for the squad to sit back, take a breath, and shift their focus to improving for the next one. Liverpool, back to back, will be the toughest challenge the Blues have faced yet. Entering the matches with more positivity than they showed against West Ham is mandatory. Sarri has been seeing this coming so he can be trusted to do his part. The squad needs to stand up and match it.