Chelsea took on 15th-placed Leeds United at Stamford Bridge looking to bounce back immediately from its midweek disappointment away to Zenit St. Petersburg in the Champions League. In what turned out to be a pulsating, end-to-end game of football, the Blues did eventually come away with all three points thanks to a 94′ penalty from Jorginho. Chelsea—being far from its best—did make things difficult for itself on the path to victory, however.
Here are the lessons learnt from the Blues’ thrilling and nervy win over their bitter rivals:
1. Chelsea got incredibly lucky
Looking past the celebrations that followed the full-time whistle, it is important to acknowledge that the Blues rode their luck against Leeds United. Although it recorded a 2.89 xG, Chelsea’s two penalties were worth a combined 1.52 xG. Removing them, therefore, paints a less optimistic picture with regards to the Blues’ collective performance on the night.
As this writer alluded to post-West Ham, Chelsea’s recent showings have not been great. Saturday’s performance is but the latest in a series of poor outings from Thomas Tuchel’s men. The team lacked the necessary control to see a game out and this promptly manifested itself in Reece James’ rash challenge on Daniel James in the first half that could have seen him sent off. These are undoubtedly trying times for Tuchel and his players. Key players such as N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic remain out and with matches in December coming thick and fast, fatigue amongst the playing personnel will soon present itself as yet another problem for the manager to account for.
However, these are issues that every club has to deal with. Leeds United, for example, is dealing with the absence of Kalvin Philips and Patrick Bamford, two players who were critical to its club’s success in the league last season. The point I wish to make here is that Chelsea has to learn to deal with setbacks better. Having your centerhalf win two penalties in a single match is hardly a sustainable means of obtaining results in the long run. Tuchel simply has to look beyond these reasons to pinpoint the exact cause behind his team’s startling loss of form.
2. Managing expectations
Perhaps to play the devil’s advocate myself, this writer does recognise the difficult position that Tuchel currently finds himself in. Nowhere is this better reflected than in his persistence with Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Jorginho as his midfield duo, despite their poor showing against West Ham United. The lack of options available to Tuchel mean that the midfield almost picks itself these days. Similar arguments, albeit to a lesser extent, can be made with regards to Chelsea’s defensive options with Trevoh Chalobah and Ben Chilwell both out with injury. Therefore, when accounting for Tuchel’s constant need to fit square pegs in round holes across various positions in his starting XI, it is understandable that performance levels will inevitably suffer.
However, what matters most is that the Blues continue to pick up the points regardless of the quality of performance. To expect consistency in terms of quality of performance during the festive period is to set oneself up for disappointment. Leeds United presented a particularly stern test for Chelsea. Twice in the match, the Blues found themselves in the ascendancy only to be pegged back by individual errors. Specifically, Marcos Alonso’s foolish concession of a penalty in the first half clearly took the wind out of Chelsea’s sails. At the end of the day, however, the team still found a way to get the job done. It was by no means “deserved” or “pretty” but the Blues still find themselves relevant in conversations for the title. That is perhaps the best that the team can hope for as it attempts to ride out this tough period of the season.
3. Mason Mount gets it
As Chelsea continue its struggle to regain some consistency in terms of its performance, one man whose game continues to develop exponentially is Mason Mount. The 22-year-old’s goal against Leeds is his fifth goal contribution across the last three league games and marks his sixth league goal of the season. Perhaps his upturn in form coinciding with the team’s increasingly desperate need for individuals who can take a game by the scruff of its neck can be attributed to a coincidence. However, one suspects that winning games for Chelsea means that much more for Mount. It shows in the way he plays, it shows in the pure joy he expresses every time he gets himself on the scoresheet and on Saturday, it shows in the way he “shushed” the Leeds fans after scoring the equaliser.
Mount is special. If only more Blues fans could just take a moment to recognise this instead of putting him down when he is on the occasional bad run of form, perhaps this writer would not feel this constant need to remind everyone just how vital the Englishman is to this team.
What are three lessons you learnt in the match? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!