Chelsea: Three lessons from the second league loss of the season

3. Cause for concern for Chelsea’s German duo?

Chelsea’s 17 match unbeaten run has, in large parts, mitigated any criticism of Chelsea’s two most expensive signings over the summer that is, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz. Football is a result orientated sport and many things can be overlooked so long as the results remain positive. However, the absence of all three of Chelsea’s natural wingers on Saturday placed a higher than usual expectation for the German duo to perform. Their subsequent failure to have any significant impact on the game as the team’s unbeaten run came to a grinding halt hence resulted in many Chelsea fans sharing their feelings of disappointment at their underwhelming day at the office.

While Werner’s quiet day could be attributed to a lack of proper service from Chelsea’s midfield, the same certainly cannot be said for Havertz. The young German midfielder, endured what was perhaps his worst half of football since signing for Chelsea as Allan and Doucoure both had a field day keeping his influence to a minimum in the first 45. Everything that the German tried failed to come off and while his performance certainly improved in the second half, a blocked long range effort from him swiftly turning into an Everton counter attack just about sums up how poor his day was.

However, as disappointing as Havertz was, context is important here with the German having just recovered from COVID-19. Moreover, the midfielder is most likely still adapting to a new country and a new style of play without going through a proper pre-season with the club. Struggles at this early stage of the campaign is normal and patience is certainly in order when measuring his impact at the club thus far.

As for the case of Werner, the forward has already featured in 18 matches this season, 16 of which were starts. Constant injuries to other components of Chelsea’s frontline have contributed hugely to a lack of rest for the German and a lack of consistency in terms of positions played and teammates he has to build chemistry with on the pitch.

Ultimately, as is the case for the club as a whole under Lampard, the general level of performances of both players has been good enough to suggest that the best is still yet to come. Time will certainly provide a useful gel that would eventually bring the pieces of this Chelsea puzzle together.

What lessons did you learn from this match? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!