Chelsea 1-4 Brentford: Three lessons learnt in frustrating defeat
2. The deadwood
Chelsea is going to have a lot of tough decisions to make come this summer. Assuming the takeover is complete and the new owners have settled in by the end of the campaign, there is going to be another round of squad turnover come July 1. Tuchel, his staff and the club’s hierarchy will have to come to a couple tough conclusions regarding the futures of players like N’Golo Kante and Jorginho, who are coming into the last year of their current deals. All of that being said, there were a few players who cemented their status for the summer transfer window against Brentford.
The first of these individuals is Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Loftus-Cheek has undoubtedly been one of the unluckiest footballers in recent memory with the injuries he’s suffered over the years. The once-promising young prospect has now turned into a mediocre midfielder who still seems too unsure of himself to really add anything to a side. He shows flashes of brilliance, but at 26, consistency is key if he wants to remain at a top club like Chelsea.
The fact of the matter is he’s been poor in recent weeks. Loftus-Cheek came out of the gate against the Bees giving the ball away numerous times and committing a reckless challenge; all in the game’s opening 60 seconds. These miscues set the tone for the remainder of the match as he displayed all of the worst qualities that fans harp on Jorginho for regularly, without offering much else. Loftus-Cheek seldom got onto the ball, turned and charged forward, which was upsetting considering his ability to make these darting runs was the sole reason he was in the starting XI. The Englishman’s performance against Brentford likely represents the final nail in the coffin of his underwhelming—for reasons beyond his control—Chelsea career. He’s got to go in the summer.
The other atrocious performance put on by a Blues player on Saturday came from Timo Werner. The German forward has struggled immensely since coming over from RB Leipzig. He wasn’t the only one to face challenges while transitioning into the Premier League as Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech had growing pains, as well. However, Havertz and Ziyech have settled in and really established themselves as some of Chelsea’s most important players over the last few months. They’ve left Werner in the dust as he continues to look as skillful as a wet napkin on the ball.
Werner wasted chance after chance, breaking down nearly every attack he was involved in on Saturday. He made some promising runs throughout his 65 minutes on the pitch, but nearly every one of them was followed up by a poor touch or a skewed shot. I still believe there is a talented football hidden deep inside Werner somewhere, it just seems as if he’ll never be able to find that within himself while in west London. It’s time to bid farewell to the hard-working forward as it’s in the best interest of both the Blues and the player himself.