It is becoming difficult to find a different negative adjective to describe each Chelsea match. The latest, a 2-0 defeat at Leicester City, can only be characterized as hopeless. The entire starting XI looked a step slower than their opponents, and the team was outclassed overall.
During this difficult stretch of matches in which the Blues have played their worst football of the season, it has been difficult to pick out one specific reason for the team’s failure. It was not difficult to do so against the Foxes, as everything that could have possibly gone wrong, did go wrong. From the team selection to the in-game tactics, the Blues were overmatched in every facet of the game.
Looking at the starting XI, it was obvious that Frank Lampard wanted to outscore Leicester. The midfield trio of Kai Havertz, Mason Mount and Mateo Kovacic was particularly surprising, as none of those three are known for their defensive abilities. They appeared to set up in a triangle with Havertz in the No. 10 role while Mount and Kovacic sat deeper in defense. Predictably, once the game began, the Leicester midfielders had no problem overpowering this flimsy Chelsea unit. Wilfred Ndidi and Youri Tielemans provided fantastic cover for James Maddison, who had one of his best individual performances of the season so far. The Foxes’ dominance in the center of the pitch made it impossible for the Blues to play with any fluidity and rendered their possession advantage meaningless.
Lampard probably chose the best three forwards to start based on form, but each of their performances was extremely forgettable. Had Christian Pulisic, Tammy Abraham and Callum Hudson-Odoi simply disappeared after the first whistle, the outcome of the match would likely have been the same. As it has been for almost two months now, Chelsea’s creativity in the attack was lacking.
To give credit where credit is due, Leicester’s incredible defensive work rate made it difficult for Pulisic and Hudson-Odoi to really impact the game. Whenever one of them would receive the ball, they were immediately surrounded by a Foxes’ fullback, defensive midfielder and/or winger. Harvey Barnes and Marc Albrighton were particularly effective in assisting James Justin and Timothy Castagne defensively, which starved Abraham for support as the lone striker. More room to maneuver became available once Timo Werner was substituted on to play alongside Abraham, but the Blues were already defeated at that point.
The defense played pretty well as a whole, but a few moments of lapsed concentration resulted in the two first half goals that killed Chelsea’s spirit. Some supporters might have raised an eyebrow seeing Antonio Rudiger in the first XI ahead of Kurt Zouma, but the German international actually played well overall, launching a few impressive diagonal balls to switch the field.
There is not much to be said about Leicester’s opening goal, as Ndidi was simply the first player to react to the missed kick and put his shot on target. The second goal, however, was probably preventable had Reece James tracked back more quickly. His poor positioning left Maddison wide open to put away an easy finish and end any chance of a Blues comeback.
It is hard to see where Chelsea goes from here. Lampard will probably be sacked by the time many of you are reading this, marking the end of what will be one of the most disappointing managerial stints in recent club history considering how much love there is for Super Frank at Stamford Bridge. In the end though, the performances have been poor, and Chelsea has never been a club that allows a bad run of results to continue uninhibited.