This is also the first time Chelsea is conceding five goals in a Premier League game under Pochettino, and last night was the biggest defeat the Blues have seen since the former Paris Saint-Germain manager took the reins at Stamford Bridge this season.
Chelsea fans, as usual, have expressed irritation and exasperation at the leaky defense, and not for the first time, have directed their anger in the wrong direction.
“We conceded the goal too easy and made things so easy for Arsenal…” were Pochettino’s own words in the aftermath of the Arsenal flogging.
Yes, Mauricio Pochettino is right. Chelsea conceded too easily against Arsenal and made it easy for the North London title contenders. However, he makes it sound like fresh analysis. It is not.
Most importantly, Chelsea is designed, by Pochettino, to concede easily. How? I’ll explain.
Chelsea made it so easy for Arsenal, but also made it so easy for Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge, and made it so easy for Liverpool, and made it so easy for Manchester City at the Bridge…you get the idea.
Chelsea is always making it easy for opponents to concede goals. This is the issue. This is the issue that Pochettino needs to address that he keeps referring to as though it’s a problem that is happening to his team, rather than one he created.
Chelsea has now conceded 57 league goals, surpassing the number the Blues allowed in the 2019/20 league season under Frank Lampard. This puts the number at 1.78 goals conceded per game so far, which is way higher than the 1.4 goals allowed per game under Lampard in 2019/20.
The difference is that Lampard was one year into his managerial career when he took up the Chelsea job, so conceding 1.4 goals per game, while bad, can be explained - even if in part - by inexperience. Pochettino has been managing in Europe’s top five leagues for the past 15 years though.
That makes this unacceptable. Let’s get into it.