Chelsea have one difficult match after another in February. Here’s the state of things from around the club.
Chelsea’s goalscoring struggles from December unfortunately spilled into January. The Blues opened the year with a 0-0 draw against Southampton. That set the tone for the remainder of the month as the Blues experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.
Overall, Chelsea is right where they need to be. The Blues continue to advance further in the Europa League and FA Cup, they’re in the final of the Carabao Cup and they sit fourth in the Premier League. So, despite a shaky month, there’s nothing for Chelsea fans to hang their heads about.
1. Match of the Month: Bournemouth 4-0 Chelsea
The Blues met with more than they could handle in Bournemouth. The match was Chelsea’s fourth in 11 days, whereas their hosts had enjoyed an 11-day break. This gave Eddie Howe more than enough time to analyze Sarri’s tactics and develop a plan to defeat Chelsea.
The Blues played right into the hands of Eddie Howe and Bournemouth by allowing Joshua King to shred their defense on multiple occasions. Howe instructed King and David Brooks to position themselves around the middle of the pitch, where Jorginho did much of his distribution. By doing so, Bournemouth rendered the Chelsea man worthless.
This forced the Chelsea attack down each of the wings, which allowed Bournemouth to keep a more compact shape. The longer this went on, the more sloppy and vulnerable the Blues became as they strayed away from the manager’s tactics in their efforts to penetrate the defense.
While other managers have successfully outmatched Sarri and Chelsea tactically, nobody did it quite like Howe and his Cherries. Sarri failed to develop a Plan B as Bournemouth picked his side apart, raising many questions about Sarrismo.
If the Blues don’t learn how to penetrate a compact defense and free Jorginho from a midfield marking, they’re in for a long month ahead as they square off against some of the world’s best.