Chelsea: Mistakes must be banished by the Blues against Villa
Chelsea’s up and down season has been characterized by mistakes, but the Blues need to limit those errors against Aston Villa.
The disastrous display of defending from David Luiz on Wednesday evening was a timely reminder of the ridiculous stunts that Chelsea no longer has to be concerned about.
His red card was the icing on an unsavory cake, having already given away a penalty and completely miscuing his touch to allow Manchester City their first goal of the evening. Questions now heavily linger over the 31-year-old’s future at the top level, but it also sends out a stark warning to the rest of the Premier League for the remaining fixtures: there is absolutely no margin for error anymore.
Frank Lampard’s honeymoon period as Chelsea manager is over, and he should now be concentrating on eradicating the mistakes his own side have been guilty of committing during this transitional season. Including the FA Cup tie against Leicester City, and the virtually unassailable task of overcoming Bayern Munich in the Champions League, there are 11 games left to truly make a mark on this campaign, beginning at the home of Aston Villa.
The Villains have already given an account for themselves following the return of English football, playing out a 0-0 with Sheffield United in which they were extremely fortunate not to have conceded had the goal line technology not still been in lockdown mode.
Even the trusted machinery that was installed to eradicate such errors has it pitfalls, but this is no excuse for the humans playing the game to drop their standards. Instead, it must spur them on to outperform their robotic assistants, leaving little room for slip-ups that could jeopardise months of hard work.
This particularly applies to Chelsea’s situation. A spot in Europe is still on the line, made slightly less tense by the Blades dropping points mid-week, with three of the chasing pack still to play before the Villa clash on Sunday. Alongside potential cup glory, Lampard now has plenty of motivation to go out and make a statement against the league’s second-to-bottom club.
He has the gift of a full-strength squad at his fingertips for the first time since he took over last summer. With the talent at his disposal, there is more than enough to see off Villa, who have won half the league fixtures that Chelsea have in 2019/20. Lampard also has the arrival of Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner to stew over, so why not provide them with some promise before they land on English shores?
Related Story. Chelsea key clashes at Villa: Blues’ defense vs. Villains’ attack, Kante vs. McGinn, etc.. light
Their likely inclusion straight into the starting line up should inspire the forward players to fire on all cylinders to give their boss food for thought when it comes to his selection process. Most of the problems have been at the back, however Chelsea are tenth in the conversion rate table, despite scoring the fourth most of goals. This highlights the need to for more ruthlessness in the final third. Who better to do so than against the leakiest defence in the division?
This ties nicely into the Blues inconsistencies in defending, pioneered by Kepa Arrizbalaga and ensured by concerns over the likes of Marcos Alonso, Andreas Christensen and Kurt Zouma. Granted, the latter three have obvious ability and are not the only ones liable of criticism. Yet, there have been strong rumours suggesting they could be out of the door soon. To avoid, or at least prolong a transfer, they need to eradicate the sloppiness and solidify any faults that may have occurred earlier in the campaign.
Next. Chelsea talking tactics: Deja vu with the Villans after a long wait. dark
Take notes from the reverse encounter at Stamford Bridge. One ball into the box caused complete confusion among the back-four, allowing Villa to score a scruffy leveler, a theme they tried to continue into the second half with less success. The Blues were also wasteful in attack, attempting 25 shots at Tom Heaton’s goal with nine on target and just two goals to show for it.
Obviously, such a long layoff will inevitably cause weariness in body and decision making, but to compete with the very best, Lampard and company can not afford to drop their levels, especially with the end so near in sight.