Challenges lie ahead for Chelsea following Leicester victory

Thomas Tuchel will be back in the dugout for Chelsea when it visits St. Mary’s on Tuesday in search of consecutive wins for the first time in the Premier League this season. The Blues bounced back following their shocking collapse at Elland Road by winning a hard-fought battle against Leicester City on Saturday. Tuchel—who was serving his one-match ban after his altercation with Antonio Conte in the previous home fixture—saw the action unfolds from the stands.

The victory was not a smooth ride for the home side. Chelsea was down to 10-men after just 30 minutes following Conor Gallagher being shown a second yellow card in the first half. If James Maddison had been available and the Foxes were in better form at the time, the result would have been much, much different. Leicester City‘s finishing let it down whenever it was able to get the better of Chelsea’s resolute defending, which only serves to highlight the issues that the Blues will have going forward this season.

Chelsea defeated Leicester City, but other challenges lie ahead for the Blues

The match started in the same fashion one would expect when Chelsea plays against lesser opposition. Despite maintaining the majority of possession, the Blues were incompetent in trying to make the most of it. After Gallagher was sent off, Chelsea looked more dangerous going forward due to an altered formation. Things changed again for the home side slightly after the post-halftime restart.

A halftime substitution for Cesar Azpilicueta and the resulting formation changes helped the Blues as they scored within two minutes of the restart. Raheem Sterling got off the mark in Chelsea blue with a brilliant finish that found the top corner over Danny Ward’s head. Before long, he added his second of the day after a brilliant team move saw him tap in Reece James’ cross. Despite Harvey Barnes getting one back for the Foxes, the Blues were able to hold on to a very important three points. Chelsea secured what could be a season-defining result, regardless of the adversity the team faced throughout the contest.

The early red meant there was not much to learn about the progress team has made so far this season. The spirit that was shown by the Blues, however, will give the new owners and Tuchel so much confidence going forward.

One of the worrying aspects of the way Chelsea plays, for Tuchel, will remain the ease in which opponents have been able to counterattack the Blues. The Foxes were able to utilize the pace of their front line to open Chelsea’s back line plenty of times throughout the 90 minutes, despite an emphasis being put on defending when 2-0 up.

It was a similar move from Leicester that resulted in Gallagher’s second yellow card following a corner kick. Seeing as at least four Chelsea players were trekking back, he should have refrained from committing the foul. Over the years, the Blues have carved out a reputation of being a superior side when it comes to set pieces. Lately though, Chelsea has been incredibly poor on either end of free kicks and corners. Apart from the goal Kalidou Koulibaly scored against Tottenham Hotspur, every other set piece has been a disaster.

It doesn’t seem to be a player issue given the fact that all of the Chelsea kick-takers are good at their respective jobs. Something seems has changed behind the scenes that Tuchel needs to look into as soon as possible, or the Blues run the risk of being hit out all season long. It is still early days in the Premier League though, so there’s no need to worry just yet.

Apart from Arsenal, every team  in the English top division has dropped points in the first four weeks. Chelsea does not look like it is done in the transfer window. Hence, it will take awhile before the team is settled into the rhythm Tuchel demands from his side. Practically every team in the league has made some significant additions to their side, the Blues are just a little late to the party. The competition looks more fierce than it ever has before, and Chelsea will ideally be at the front of the pack once these issues are sorted out.

Where do you think the Blues will ultimately end up? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or on Twitter!