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4 points of concern following Chelsea’s drubbing of Burnley

By Michael DeVito

BURNLEY, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 31: James Tarkowski of Burnley battles for possession with Kai Havertz of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Burnley and Chelsea at Turf Moor on October 31, 2020 in Burnley, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
BURNLEY, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 31: James Tarkowski of Burnley battles for possession with Kai Havertz of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Burnley and Chelsea at Turf Moor on October 31, 2020 in Burnley, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /
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BURNLEY, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 31: James Tarkowski of Burnley battles for possession with Kai Havertz of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Burnley and Chelsea at Turf Moor on October 31, 2020 in Burnley, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
BURNLEY, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 31: James Tarkowski of Burnley battles for possession with Kai Havertz of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Burnley and Chelsea at Turf Moor on October 31, 2020 in Burnley, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /

3. Chelsea’s surrendering of possession

No club will be perfect with their passes, it’s impossible in professional football. Mistakes—as well as good defense by the opposition—happens in the beautiful game. However, Chelsea seems prone to locating opponents too easily with errant passing. It’s beginning to be another chronic situation which will be costly to them eventually. Today against Burnley, the Blues too often just sent the ball in perfect passes to their claret, sky blue and white-clad opponents. While the results of those errant passes didn’t result in a goal, they could have against more formidable attacking teams. If this sloppy passing continues, Chelsea’s foes will benefit and the Blues will reap the consequences.

Those mistakes will wind up as goals when Lampard’s men line up against top quality opposition such as Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham, Everton and the round of 16 Champions League opponents (assuming the Blues make it that far). Those top clubs will take those careless passes and make the Blues pay. Hopefully Lampard will patch together a whole tape’s worth of the sloppy passing with evidence not only against Burnley, but during the beginning of this season, as well.

Overall, this will not make for great viewing by the culprits for certain. Players like passing whiz Kai Havertz can be flagged for frankly surprising sloppiness in his passes on multiple occasions, especially right in front of the Blues’ goal. Unfortunately, albeit he is the most frequent offender, Havertz is far from the only player to blame. Lampard has to make an example of this and ensure that his team values possession much more dearly than it has evidenced on numerous occasions this season already.

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