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Chelsea: Three things to look for in increasingly must win matches

By Travis Tyler

Chelsea's German midfielder Kai Havertz (L) vies with Wolverhampton Wanderers' Belgian midfielder Leander Dendonckerduring the English Premier Lea gue football match between Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge in London on January 27, 2021. (Photo by NEIL HALL / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by NEIL HALL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea's German midfielder Kai Havertz (L) vies with Wolverhampton Wanderers' Belgian midfielder Leander Dendonckerduring the English Premier Lea gue football match between Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge in London on January 27, 2021. (Photo by NEIL HALL / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by NEIL HALL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 27: Kai Havertz of Chelsea in action during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge on January 27, 2021 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 27: Kai Havertz of Chelsea in action during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge on January 27, 2021 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) /

Chelsea last performed well and got a result at the same time against Juventus. Last month. The closest thing the team put up to a “good” performance since then was against Everton and the result still wasn’t there. Two wins, three draws, and a loss is not panic mode results but managers have been sacked for less at Chelsea and elsewhere in the Premier League.

That’s not saying Thomas Tuchel should be sacked by any means, but at some point the scales shift. How injured the team is won’t matter. How the performances are won’t matter. Only the results will. And, a team fresh off winning the Champions League and having been in the title race conversation for months can’t slip like this forever and expect to continue as if nothing is happening.

Increasingly, each new match is must win. First up is Wolves. What should fans be looking for?

1. Who can actually play?

Though it won’t be an excuse if results aren’t there, the injury crisis is certainly weighing the team down. Even if Ben Chilwell and Trevoh Chalobah’s injuries weren’t as bad as first feared, there are still plenty of short term injuries weighing the team down as they enter the busiest period of the seasons.

Beyond that, “being an idiot nearly two years into a pandemic” should be listed as an injury at this point. Too many players were given access to the vaccine before the general population to still be talking about Covid outbreaks at clubs. Tuchel gave the players a few extra days off earlier this week and it seems to have backfired.

Through injury, stupidity, or bad luck, Chelsea will be without Jorginho, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ben Chilwell, and maybe Mateo Kovacic and Kai Havertz as well. The Blues are heavily depleted and the players still on the pitch are bearing the brunt of the fatigue now. One injury crisis has ended this season only for a new one to begin.

None of it will matter if the results aren’t there, but it can’t be ignored that Tuchel’s had to duct tape together a “suitable” XI for the better part of the last month.

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