Chelsea: Liverpool exposes the gap between the sides
Liverpool exposes the gap between itself and Chelsea on the night the Blues’ could’ve clinched a Champions League place for next season.
It’s not hard to understand why Liverpool is the Premier League champion and Chelsea’s current squad is not—it’s just hard to accept. The bad news is, it comes down to quality and only quality. It’s as simple as that.
Liverpool is ahead in that area and Chelsea needs to close the gap in this summer transfer window. Chelsea has already began to build a foundation, but the Blues must now do much more to finish bridging the gap completely. If not, be happy with fourth or fifth place in the league every season because that’s all there will be.
Chelsea is outclassed in pace by the Reds. Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are the top of the barrel, Chelsea’s defenders can’t really keep them under control. Better defenders will have to be the recipe here for Chelsea. It’s essential.
In the front line next season, the Blues also need more pace. Timo Werner will add great versatility to the forward position, as will Pulisic. The American’s non-impact on the bench in the first half was a clear factor in Chelsea’s loss. He came on in the second half and scored one and assisted another goal. Hakim Ziyech will also add a needed infusion of overall top performance. This is a great foundation, but that’s just a start, more needs to be done.
A second obvious reason for Chelsea’s demolition by Liverpool today was their inability to finish off great chances and Liverpool’s ability to do just that. Case in point, the Mason Mount headed effort early in the first half. It might have made all the difference, it might not have, but it’s something the English midfielder should’ve at least put on target. In addition, he is not really a forward. Mount’s best position is attacking midfielder; where he can best use his work-rate and ability to move the ball forward from there. He is not going to be a big-time scorer.
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Thirdly, Salah and Mane are just better than any forwards Chelsea had on the pitch—that is, until Pulisic arrived. Willian gave away a goal and probably any chance he had to get that three-year contract from the Blues. He came up short in the biggest of matches. Chelsea has narrowed the gap here as Ziyech and Werner are both superior to the two forwards Chelsea put on the pitch Wednesday. But we can only speculate if they can be better than Salah and Mane. That’s a question that will be answered next season, but Liverpool’s class was on display on Wednesday.
Fourthly, Chelsea’s defense needs an upgrade, a serious overhaul. The Blues are not able to dominate or even control quality opponents like Liverpool due to poor play along the back. The defense is in need of a massive rebuild. Three goals in the first half against a top side just aren’t going to get the Blues to where they need to be—five goals at full time is even worse. Major changes need to be made and it’s time to start selling off players who don’t make the grade and start adding those who do.
Lastly, the need for a new keeper should be distinctly clear at this point. Kepa Arrizabalaga just doesn’t make many saves. Fives goals against Liverpool is not acceptable given the amount of shots he faced. Bring in Dean Henderson, Andre Onana, whomever; a move has to be made. If a move is not made, forget any chance of contending for the 2020/21 Premier League title, if that is even a remote possibility at this point.
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An overhaul is a daunting task for the Blues. They have made a fabulous beginning to the window, but a lot more needs done after the poor display put on at Anfield. If Chelsea is to compete with the juggernauts like Liverpool and Manchester City next season, changes are necessary. Otherwise, Chelsea will continue to be a second-rate club—and that hurts, a lot.