With Chelsea taking just a point from their last match against Newcastle, it has been a torrid time for the champions. The sluggish performance in the first half was an example of how Chelsea has deteriorated in the past 4 months. The team looks like a shadow of the champion team that played last season. No urgency in their ball movement along with their back line looking as shaky as ever this is going to be a hard season ahead. With Chelsea losing as many games as they lost last season in the league, coming back into the title race will be hard as ever.
Three things we learned from this weekend’s match
1. The attack
Toothless in their attack, Chelsea could not penetrate the Newcastle back line at all. With Pedro, Hazard and Oscar in the line up any team would be shaken up but there was no sting in the attack. Running with the ball tirelessly but no penetration at all. Fabregas is playing moderately well but still all those incisive passes are missing. Chelsea have not been moving the ball well at all. Every time Chelsea got the ball they slowed the game down. There was no urgency even when they were 2 goals down.
The square passing and playing long hopeful balls inside the penalty area hoping someone would attack it has been a major problem for Chelsea this season. The lethargic nature in the team is clearly visible on the field and this was a performance the Chelsea fans would like to forget as soon as possible.
2. The second half
We could see the faint glimmer of the Chelsea team of last season during the second half. Playing with much more intensity and much more passion inside them the fans were a little happy to see their team finally getting in the game. But the question still remains, “What happened in the first half?” Ramires was like a breath of fresh air driving inside, making those runs, running into the defence which was missing. Chelsea’s passing has been poor this season and it was up on display again when they faced Newcastle this Saturday.
3. The defence
One of the tightest defence in the premier league last season has let in half as many goals as they had last season. Shaky and not confident the defence is in shambles. Zouma and Cahill could not handle the pressure and Zouma made the mistake after which he was nervous throughout the game. Newcastle’s second goal was from a corner and it was a free header for Wijnaldum which he converted with much ease.
Fabregas was supposed to mark his run but he left him and he slotted in with much pleasure. Ivanovic has been a liability for the Chelsea team this season and he proved it again this time around. The full backs are not providing the width that the team needs and this is a problem that Jose Mourinho has to address. It’s high time Jose Mourinho makes some radical changes in the team if they still want to challenge for the title this season or else it’s goodbye to the league.
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