Wednesday had spelt disappointment for the Blues as they found themselves trailing in the second half before an eventual 2-2 draw against Champions League opposition Qarabag FK. Coming into the matchup, many fans would not recognise the Azerbaijan club, but the match proved that reputation alone does not decide matches.
While Chelsea managed to bring the game level thanks to a substitute goal by Alejandro Garnacho, it leaves Enzo Maresca under pressure to find solutions. Fortunately, they did bounce back against Wolves.
But that was expected against the bottom team in the Premier League. The important thing is to build on this result and go on a good run.
Issues against Qarabag FK
Throughout the match against Qarabag, the negatives that caused the result followed the same theme as seen in Chelsea’s recent slip-ups: poor defending. Due to a key injury to Levi Colwill, Maresca has committed to his continuous rotation of centre-backs and an inconsistent string of results has continued.
Wednesday, the team was lucky to not have conceded more than two. And without a Robert Sanchez save, they very easily could have conceded the decisive losing goal in the 92nd minute.
In “big matches” against Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool, the team has managed to step up their intensity in both pressing and defensive actions, but the reality is that without consistency, the potential of the squad is limited. A physically imposing club such as Qarabag FK was able to take the game to Chelsea and dominate during stretches of the match.
While defence was the standout issue, the attacking deficiencies cannot be ignored either. There was a severe lack of offensive bite, and to be held to under 1.5 xG against a team build on a fraction of their budget is disappointing. Time after time, the Blues appeared to send hopeful crosses and through balls.
Azerbaijan match silver lining
The silver lining is simple, despite getting the game completely wrong, the team still stands in a strong position to advance in the Champions League. An optimist would state that a long travel and game congestion resulted in a sluggish performance versus an opponent who were on the biggest stage of their careers and extra motivated to put in a performance worth remembering in front of their home fans.
For example, Qarabag FK brought high intensity from the first minute and were willed to the final whistle by an inspired crowd. Even their game plan of reducing the total game time worked expertly, as despite over 90 minutes of game time, the ball was recorded in play for a mere 46 minutes and 11 seconds.
How Chelsea can regain form
Intensity. That is the one word Enzo Maresca should be repeating at Cobham every day if he is to fix the consistency of the team. Against Wolves, we did see that. The Blues put on the pressure from the start of the game, and while they could not find a goal in the first half, they did score thrice after the break as their hard work was rewarded.
Of course, many will point towards the fact that Wolves are winless in the Premier League this season. But then, we have seen Chelsea slip up on such occasions in the past. Thankfully, they did not this time around.