After an enthralling draw with Liverpool last weekend, which left much to look forward to, Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea let it all come crashing down with a defeat away to West Ham.
While the first half looked like there could be some positive sparks, the second half showed clear indications of the work still to be done with this team. While the poor performance was a collective effort, three players seemed to fare worse during this London derby.
3 Chelsea players who let the team down against West Ham United
Axel Disasi
Arriving earlier this summer from Monaco, there was much to look forward to with the arrival of Axel Disasi. A large, physical, commanding center-back, he was recruited to bolster defensive options in the middle and perhaps be a successor to Thiago Silva. Last week at Liverpool he showed his class, and scored the goal to bring the game level.
This weekend though, a different player was on the pitch. With shaky defending and dreadful forward play, Disasi showed he has much to build on if he wants to be Pochettino’s first choice. He made a few missteps defending and his hesitancy in backtracking led to the second goal by Antonio.
Unfortunately, Disasi didn’t do much to prove he should be a regular starter. In two weeks, he’s shown us both sides of his coin and this match cost a lot more than just a single goal. Seeing Disasi in the starting lineup again felt well deserved after his performance last week, but after his showing against West Ham, Pochettino may have to reconsider him for the next match.
Conor Gallagher
Gallagher was another player who showed huge potential during last week’s clash and was potentially Chelsea’s best player during preseason. However, new players have come in since preseason and it looks like a change of formation for Pochettino as well. This has left Gallagher in an awkward position.
He’s been left to rely on both defensive and offensive attributes in this new position and today, he lacked both. Defensively, he was dreadful. Completely at fault for the first goal, not properly marking Nayef Aguerd, allowing him to challenge uncontested for a free header right in front of the goal, gave West Ham an early lead. It did not get much better from there. Gallagher did not look strong going forward and almost uncomfortable trying to make key passes.
Defensively, he offered little to no help. Sitting a bit too far back, he looked completely out of position. With the arrivals of Caicedo and Lavia, Gallagher’s position could look to be usurped. The length of Carney Chukwuemeka’s injury could allow him to regain his CAM position, but he’ll need to prove to Pochettino he can do that quickly.
Mykhailo Mudryk
It may be a bit harsh to include someone on this list that only played for 45 minutes, but in that 45 minutes Mudryk appeared to prove to Pochettino why he shouldn’t be starting. He seemed to not want to do what he is best at. He made very few runs at defenders, did not show his pace, lacked creativity in the final third, and had two awful blunders in the box.
Mudryk certainly possesses talent, but unlocking that talent and being able to use it week in and week out, is something he is still struggling with. He is one of, if not the, fastest player on the pitch almost every time. Yet today, against a West Ham team that was down a man, he did not take any opportunities to run at his attackers.
A few cutbacks led to him losing possession. He stopped his runs and opted for a backwards pass a few times, and in the box he stumbled over the ball and had an absolutely dreadful attempt at a volley. While it is the belief of many CFC fans that there is a ton to look forward to in this young Ukrainian, he unfortunately put some doubt in the back of their minds today.