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Southampton 2-1 Chelsea: Three lessons learnt in another defeat

By Olaoluwa Nwobodo

Thomas Tuchel, Manager of Chelsea (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Thomas Tuchel, Manager of Chelsea (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) /
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SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 30: Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly of Chelsea hold off Che Adams of Southampton during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Chelsea FC at Friends Provident St. Mary’s Stadium on August 30, 2022 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 30: Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly of Chelsea hold off Che Adams of Southampton during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Chelsea FC at Friends Provident St. Mary’s Stadium on August 30, 2022 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images) /

Chelsea has lost yet another game this season, this time at Southampton. This defeat makes it two losses in five Premier League games thus far for the Blues, which is an abysmal start given the expectations. It was a difficult game to watch—almost from start to finish—with Chelsea fans seeing a lot of the same mistakes as they have already seen, as well as many new irritations from Thomas Tuchel’s squad. It’d be difficult to take anything positive from such a horrific match for the away side in the grand scheme of things.

Nevertheless, here are three lessons we learnt from the rubbish performance by Chelsea:

1. Chelsea is no longer good defensively

When Chelsea won Champions League at the end of the 2020/21 season, many recognized that a lot of the club’s success was the result of outstanding defensive performances. This led people to believe the attack was the Blues’ main problem, and that was where the board needed to focus on going forward. A large percentage of the supporters disregarded the obvious fact that Tuchel needed to add an extra centerback to the line-up to achieve this defensive solidity.

The following season, Chelsea began to show worrying signs. It seemed as if more teams had figured out how to get behind the back line and ask more questions of the goalkeeper. Many fans still remembered the early days of Tuchel and reassured themselves that they were still defensively solid, even though holes were appearing.

This season, there has been a rude awakening. After losing two games and conceding eight goals in the first five league games of the season, long overdue questions are now being asked. For reference, the Blues allowed 2.6 shots on target per game throughout the 2020/21 season. Last season, they allowed 3.0 shots on target per game, and this season, they have averaged about 4.8 shots on target allowed per game. To put that in context, this season so far, Chelsea is as defensively solid—or, rather, unstable—as a struggling Aston Villa, when it comes to shots on target allowed. Despite this, there are still many that believe the Blues’ problems are in attack.

It is one of those situations where many believe something that isn’t substantiated by any anything in reality. Thiago Silva is touted as Chelsea’s best centerback and that perhaps epitomizes the issues in the defense. Fans say this with confidence, but it’s not particularly a good thing. At his age, Silva cannot recover in many situations and sometimes, he’s pulled so far out of position that he has no chance of recovering. A 38 year-old centerback should not be the best defender at the club—so this period has been a harsh wake-up call for some.

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