Chelsea is now on a run of five clean sheets in all competitions going into the El-Clasico of English football. The Blues have played well under Graham Potter this season, but have also gotten away with poor performances from some players. Here are three players the boss has been trusting but should drop for the next game.
Raheem Sterling of Chelsea (No. 17) England
Surprising, I know. Or is it? Sterling has scored three league goals this season, and all three came before Thomas Tuchel was sacked. That alone would be a flimsy reason to want Sterling dropped though, as Potter has only managed four Premier League games. However, the chances and big chances have dried up for the Englishman as well. His dribbling has been poor throughout the season too, as he has averaged 1.1 successful dribbles per game at a 36% success rate.
Sterling’s pressing has not been great either, averaging 10.9 pressures per 90, which is much lower than expected. This is not to say there aren’t things he’s doing well. He has been carrying the ball very well, with an impressive 19% of his carries being progressive. Please now click the below link in order to continue with the current article.
The former Liverpool and Manchester City man’s passing has been nothing to write home about either, though that’s less of an issue as he operates mainly in the final third. He’s not creating chances through dribbles and isn’t creating them through passes. Neither is he getting on the end of big chances and missing the majority of them. Yes, he’s on big money, but there are several players that have made better cases for starting than Sterling and so he should sit.
Kai Havertz (No. 29) Germany
Havertz has been even worse than Sterling. The Germany international is not taking enough shots to score regularly (1.6 per game). He’s also not creating enough chances to justify a place in the lineup. He should be commended for keeping exactly half of his shots on target though. Havertz averages 1.52 Shot-Creating Actions (SCA) per 90 minutes.
This is a worse output than his aforementioned teammate’s 3.38. Havertz has made two Goal-Creating Actions (GCA) all season, which is actually better than Sterling’s one, yet Nationalelf’s man created zero big chances in 10 games and has a chance creation rate so low, he’s currently creating one chance every three games. They are not necessarily big chances.
The German has some positives as well: making the third most pressures per 90 for the Blues (19.6) and has received the third-highest progressive passes per 90 (8.9). This means he helps the Blues advance the ball. His dribbling is as bad as Sterling’s (37%), but his ball-carrying is not as good.
Ben Chilwell (No. 21) England
Chilwell has been playing regularly recently, but he has not done much to show that it’s a good idea. His poor contribution to chances, abysmal crossing, and barely-there defensive contributions mean that he has to sit down for a bit. He has been playing as the left wingback with Marc Cucurella playing as the left centerback. He’s created zero big chances and averages 0.1 chances created per game, which is the equivalent of a key pass every 10 games. He has made a poor 1.49 SCA per 90 and averages 1.47 progressive passes per 90. He has aerial duels going for him though, as he has won 80% of them in the league this season.
The Leicester City Academy graduate has also, to his credit, made three Goal-Creating Actions (GCA) for the Blues this season. His ball distribution is not great so his side cannot be an outlet for the Blues to play out from the back, and he hasn’t exactly been a defensive powerhouse, to put it nicely. Kalidou Koulibaly and Cucurella have made better cases to start than Chilwell in recent times. Thanks for reading, please let us know which stars you’d omit over on PoL’s verified Twitter account.