Chelsea settles for the first honors even of the season

First of all, let’s just get it out of the way that the lineup Thomas Tuchel selected was plenty strong enough for Wolves. Was it the first choice lineup? No, but when has Chelsea had that at any point this season? There are certainly players that are better than some that were selected, but that doesn’t mean that those that were selected aren’t good enough. The best argument that could perhaps be had comes down to Trevoh Chalobah and Christian Pulisic being played “out of position”, but that phrase has largely been a suggestion since Tuchel took over. This team had what they needed to win, but just couldn’t before the full time whistle.

It looked bad almost immediately. Wolverhampton found their way in behind as they would often throughout the match, but through the fog the refs decided the goal was offside. Wolves tried that same attack over and over but Thiago Silva, and occasionally Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpilicueta when they remembered they were defenders, held firm. When they couldn’t, Edouard Mendy would make the save as he kept his first clean sheet since the Juventus match last month.

Like previous matches where Chelsea played poorly, it felt like much of the mistakes were of Chelsea’s own making. The three at the back has become more and more of a one left behind while the other two join attacks. It doesn’t help that a pivot lacking one of Jorginho or Mateo Kovacic struggles to progress the ball effectively. Chalobah and N’Golo Kante did find defensively, but the Blues had no attack to speak of in the first half.

Tuchel made the decision to bring Saul Niguez on at half time for a probably injured Chalobah. That was a head scratcher given recent performances, but for his part Saul actually managed to knit things together much more than they had been. He constantly dropped in and out of the back line which gave the Blues a much more stable base to progress and deal with counters. By the time Mateo Kovacic came on and the team switched to a sort of 3-5-2, Chelsea was starting to gain a foothold in the match.

If nothing else, the effort to win was clearly there. Chelsea kept trying to make chances but it is worth remembering that this Wolves team is one of the best defending teams in the league. Even with a fully fit and firing XI the Blues may have struggled.

Ultimately, despite their efforts, Chelsea just didn’t have enough time. Maybe if they had played with the same effort for 90 instead of 45 things would have been different. The simple fact of it is that the team that started was plenty strong enough to get at least one goal, but for the first time since the Brighton match in April the club has to settle for 0-0.

What comes next is a mystery. The effort Chelsea showed to try to get something out of the Wolves match bodes well to coming out of the funk they have been in since the Juve beatdown. But with Covid cases increasing across the league and Chelsea’s next opponent (Brentford) also facing a Covid crisis, this may be the last game in a while.

Those games will need to be made up sooner rather than later should a pause come, but Chelsea could use even just a week off more than most right now. Mentally and physically, the squad has been fried for several weeks now. They could use the break just to square themselves away once more. That will give players time to rest and return to fitness while those with Covid will be closer to safety.

But whether the Premier League pauses over Christmas is still a mystery right now. It’s all very wait and see at the moment.