Five talking points from a very topsy turvy month at Chelsea
4. Romelu Lukaku needs more service
If you are a Chelsea fan, you probably were waiting for Romelu Lukaku to emulate what he did in the first month. However, after a brilliant start to the month, the Belgian was looking a bit isolated and deserted at the top of the field. He managed to score three goals last month, which is decent, but he only scored in two matches. In his game against Aston Villa in the PL, the Blues had only four shots on target and three of them ended at the back of the net. Although the London side came out of the match with a convincing result, the game itself gave us indications of what was to come.
In the match against Spurs, Lukaku was completely isolated in the first half and against Man City, both the Belgian and Timo Werner were almost invisible since the ball rarely left the Blues’ half. Even in the match against Juve though—where Chelsea dominated possession and the midfield—the players were not able to give a steady supply of deliveries to Lukaku. This cannot go on as the number nine needs more service if he is to score. Players like Marcos Alonso and Reece James have the ability to play in amazing crosses and they need to play with the intent of delivering balls to Lukaku.
3. Injuries are not favouring the men in blue
Chelsea has one of the best squads in the world, so many would assume that injuries wouldn’t be the death of the team. However, that does not seem to be the case as the injuries of Mason Mount, Reece and N’Golo Kante have really started to affect the team. The Blues’ midfield has not been looking the strongest since the match at Villa, and their performance against Spurs was an indication that they needed to be more assertive and dominant in the final third. Mount has not been having his best season so far, yet, it is better to have him in the team than not. In the two games where Chelsea played without Mount, the attacking intent has been lost. Kante is also an absolute game-changer who flipped the switch and upped the tempo of the London derby so quickly. James had maintained good chemistry with Lukaku, which will suffer due to his injury.