Three key clashes to watch as Chelsea duels Sevilla for first place
2. Chelsea’s attack vs. themselves
On the topic of execution, Chelsea has not finished its chances well in either of the last two matches. Missed opportunities saw the Blues leave it late against Rennes and fail to find the cracks in the low block of Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham.
A lot of fans have shown frustration with Timo Werner’s recent performance. The German has failed to convert chance after chance in recent contests, and supporters are letting him hear it. He’s earned Alvaro Morata comparisons, which is rather unfair given the differences in their respective games. Morata is a weak, simple-minded forward by trade; as opposed to Werner, who is a volume striker. The 24-year-old is going to earn numerous chances throughout the match. This aggressive style leads to high goal tallies, but also means he will misfire a lot of his shots. Therefore, Werner’s “drought”—which spans just three games—is not of much concern when it comes to Chelsea’s recent woes in front of goal. It does play a part though.
The Blues’ lack of conversion trickles down to the mindset of players like Tammy Abraham, as well. Make no mistake about it, the English striker has improved his game greatly since his debut campaign, but there are still areas that need work. Abraham’s mental blocks or tendency to overthink have gotten him into a bit of trouble recently. This has earned comparisons to the post-restart striker who found himself benched by Olivier Giroud. Abraham’s gotten into some excellent positions, but for one reason or another, struggles to finish a lot of shots.
As wonderful as the start to his Chelsea career was, Hakim Ziyech doesn’t escape blame either. Ziyech is one of the most magical, creative wingers in the world. However, that does not mean the same tricks will continue to work forever. They may have for the duration of his stay in the Eredivisie, but the Premier League is a whole different animal. The Moroccan had a bad performance against Spurs, where he often found himself figured out by the man marking him. Regardless of this, he continued the same old stuff and was dispossessed on numerous occasions. The Blues went on to be blanked by their opponents.
The worrying thing about the poor conversion rate as of late is not the silly idea Chelsea’s forwards aren’t good enough—that thought shouldn’t even be entertained. Every forward on the Blues’ roster is either world class or is well on their way to becoming elite, which is why a weak mindset becomes troublesome. Chelsea can hang with the world’s best attacking teams on their day. For this reason, the Blues need to stay out of their own heads and play the game the way they have been for months. If they find a way to get over this small, recent hump, their odds at winning some trophies—much less beating Sevilla—greatly increase.