Nottingham Forest 1-1 Chelsea: 3 lessons learned

Cesar Azpilicueta is not the solution

It is important to preface this next opinion by citing out Azpilicueta’s undisputed status as a club legend. However, on the basis of his performance against Forest, it is clear that at 32 years old, ‘Azpi’ is no longer the player with the necessary dynamism and explosiveness required of a right-back in a Graham Potter system. Coming up against the likes of Taiwo Awoniyi and Brennan Johnson, the Spaniard had a torrid time on the right side of the Chelsea defence. It was abundantly clear that the Spaniard no longer has the ability to keep up with players more than a decade his junior as he put in a performance that was at times painful to watch.

While the gaffer ought to shoulder part of the blame for deploying Azpilicueta in a position that exposed the Chelsea captain’s weakness, the defender was not helped at all by Kalidou Koulibaly’s terrible outing in the right centerback position. There was a moment in the second half when an under-hit pass from the Senegalese to his teammate was well intercepted, giving rise to a Nottingham counter attack that almost resulted in the equaliser. This sequence of events highlighted Koulibaly’s own poor form since his transfer in the summer as much as it once again exposed the Spain international’s utter lack of recovery pace to stop the subsequent cross into the box.

Regardless of these circumventing factors, it is clear that Azpilicueta is no longer a viable option at right-back. This writer would even go as far as to say that the Blue ought not to be deployed even as a right wing-back should Potter decide to revert to a back three. He simply does not possess the necessary attributes that made him such a success in that role under former manager, Antonio Conte.

With new defensive additions impending, it remains somewhat of a mystery as to why the club opted to hand Azpilicueta a new deal during the summer considering just how little he offers the team on the pitch. His supposed “leadership qualities” has not helped with Chelsea’s form. With other experienced heads such as Thiago Silva and Jorginho still around, the importance of keeping the CFC captain around for a minimum of two more years seems a little overstated in hindsight. Changes are in order, and the boss simply has to turn to other options (Lewis Hall, anyone?) or risk more results like the one against Forest.