Chelsea thumps West Ham, but lacks three important attributes
Chelsea’s netted a solid win, but the Blues displayed three reasons as to why they are not meeting the expectations of their supporters.
When is a solid three-goal win with a clean sheet, not a great win? Never. Chelsea beat West Ham, 3-0, to get back to winning ways and begin the Christmas week with a bang.The Blues beat a top half club in the Premier League finally, as well—huzzah! All of that being said, those who watched the tilt have unanswered questions about the overall performance of Frank Lampard’s side.
The game was broken open late in the second half with goals in the 78′ and 80′ minutes by Tammy Abraham, but the outcome was in doubt until that time. Overall a nice win, but still a bit disappointing. Here’s why:
1. Chelsea still has yet to show consistency across a full game
The Blues took a 1-0 lead early on, but then failed to deliver additional goals in the first half to put the Hammers away. A good start then fizzled out as West Ham controlled the match for large chunks of time. Apart from the brilliant header by the patriarch, Thiago Silva, this was more of the same of what has been seen of late. Just one first half goal and a one-goal lead at halftime, too little for a team of such talent. Yet, no matter who is selected, the Blues seem to operate as the same slow, methodical team with the ball in attack. They have exhibited little consistency at all, even when they win. It’s time for Chelsea to play a good, full 90 minutes week in and week out.
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2. The Blues are seemingly incapable of driving forward
Pass the ball sideways, pass the ball backwards, pass the ball sideways, pass the ball backwards. Lackluster play and keeping sub-par opponents in games is not the hallmark of a champion. Direct attacking flair does not seem to be the Blues’ modus operandi as the ball is not advancing up the pitch fast enough to put pressure on defenses. Absent Christian Pulisic, who seems to be regaining that direct attacking style that made him almost indefensible and helped propel the Blues into the Champions League last season—and an occasional burst by luckless Timo Werner—the reluctance to drive the ball forward remains apparent in this team. N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, and Mateo Kovacic will occasionally make a foray, but generally, the team does not drive the ball forward directly, as manager Lampard would put it.
How many times have we seen arms lowered and palms forward, indicative of the fact that no one is coming back for the ball from the midfield to take a pass and burst ahead? The palm-waving central defenders aren’t advancing the ball far enough forward—if at all. Most of the squad is not attacking and taking the ball to the defense demonstrably and on a beeline enough to open up a lane for someone else. Until they do, we should expect more of the same. Pass sideways, pass backwards, enough with that already, the Blues need to get creative.
3. The wingers still aren’t scoring
Thankfully against West Ham, Silva was there with his magnificent header early and Abraham escaped his funk and notched a well-deserved and necessary brace late to put the offensively challenged Hammers away. Too often, teams like that will hang around, hang around and then score to sweep away two points or score twice to clean the table completely from the Blues. Thankfully, Abraham’s heroics precluded that possibility in the 78′, but while Abraham and Olivier Giroud are scoring at center forward, the wingers—when available—still aren’t. As previously mentioned, Pulisic is now seemingly approaching full fitness, and beginning to regain last season’s form. That’s a very positive sign. When on his game, he’s a dynamic force with a blistering pace, outstanding dribbling ability, a nose for the goal and a willingness to take shots.
The only other winger currently fit, is not a winger at all, Timo Werner. His best position is center forward. He needs to play there, score, regain his confidence and snap out of his doldrums. That doesn’t mean Giroud and Abraham always sit though. Werner can maybe slot in on the wings at times, or why not try a dual striker system? Wearing out any of the front three is counter-productive—they need to be kept fresh, fit, happy and hungry. Lampard has to develop a rotation where he can take advantage of having all three at his disposal. That’s strength-in-depth and very few squads have that kind of talent to deploy at center forward.
A nice win emerged at the end against the Hammers. Lots of good things came from this match, but the time is approaching when the really tough contests will be at hand. Efforts like that against Liverpool and the Manchester clubs will not be good enough. We are all waiting for the 90+ minute total performances and for breakthroughs by several new players who have yet to contribute very much at all. Chelsea needs to achieve that consistency, get the unfit healthy and get the talented newcomers firing on all cylinders. Only then will this Blues squad will be a handful for any team. Until then, we wait, we hope and we enjoy the holidays as best we can in these trying times—that’s really about all we can do.
Next. Chelsea: Three lessons from a return to winning ways with West Ham. dark
What are some areas you believe the Blues can improve in? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!