Chelsea had a great start to the season that has been tripped up in recent games. What issues caused the most recent down turn?
Following a relatively positive start to the season, Chelsea has now suffered back to back defeats in the Premier League just before the festive period. These results could have an impact to the club’s long term objectives.
Chelsea fans came into this season with somewhat dampened but reasonable expectations. While there was much excitement over the new signings, there was a common understanding players take time to gel and nothing is achieved over night. However, it seemed like most of the new boys had hit the ground running and defensive problems became a thing of the past. The current run of results shows this not to be the case and it highlights how the Blues are far from the finished article. There is not one reason for this slump in performances, but rather a number of issues and factors.
The first and most obvious factor that comes to mind is injures. Not to sound like Jurgen Klopp, but injuries have played a major part in Chelsea’s recent results. Going into the Everton game, the side did not have a single winger available. Hakim Ziyech, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Christian Pulisic were all out injured and not even fit enough to make the bench. In Frank Lampard’s high pace style of play, wingers are a necessity to its effectiveness. This once again led to Timo Werner being forced out wide and it was clear the team was lacking creativity and penetration. Pulisic did return for the game against Wolves and was very dangerous in the first half but given his fitness in was no surprise he faded. While injuries undoubtedly had an impact on the results, Chelsea should have had more than enough to beat their Everton and Wolves.
A more pressing concern is Chelsea’s game management and ability to dictate tempo. At their best, Frank Lampard’s team plays some of the most exciting and attractive football in Europe. However, it seems like it’s at a pace of either 100 or zero and no in between. There will be games when Chelsea is forced to change the tempo and cannot play at 90 miles an hour but still have to have maintain control and pose a threat. This issue comes from the defensive midfield role, N’Golo Kante is the best defensive midfielder in the world in regards to tackles, interceptions and duels. But he cannot play as a metronome, someone who can keep the side ticking over in and out of possession. Jorginho has this ability. However, Jorginho is a huge defensive liability through his lack of mobility and tackling and would bring back the ghosts of last season. The solution would be for Lampard to use Billy Gilmour. Gilmour is proficient in both his defensive abilities and range of passes it would do no harm if he is given a start.
For all the positives surrounding Frank Lampard, he is not free of criticism and of recent he has made questionable decisions in regards to the starting eleven and substitutions. Olivier Giroud is the prime example, there was much media pressure on why Giroud was not starting and following his performance against Sevilla it was hard to deny him a starting spot. He grabbed a goal in the game against Leeds however looked labored at times, this should have rung alarm bells to Lampard to not start him against Everton and given his age would have been sensible to do so. However, he started in both the games to follow being largely ineffective. Lampard’s use of substitutions has also been poor recently, opting to make changes around the 70-minute mark rather than earlier on when the team clearly needs it. Despite this, Lampard is not a stubborn manager and will learn from this period.
The final factor which has contributed to Chelsea’s recent poor form is two of the new boys Kai Havertz and Timo Werner. The Germans should be granted some time to adjust to the country and league when considering their impact and performances and should not be judged too harshly. In addition to this, Werner has been playing out of position and Havertz has comeback from Corona virus. That being said, Werner has missed a number of easy chances for a player of his capabilities which would have put games away and Havertz has been Chelsea’s poorest player in the last couple matches.
If these issues are addressed, there will be not much which would be able to stop the Blues and in this unpredictable season Chelsea may yet still be title challengers.