Chelsea have changed almost an entire squad in the last two transfer windows, spending hundreds of millions of euros, far more than any other club in the world. It would be too naive to expect an instant victory in all tournaments, especially in the restructuring and pressure conditions, but even so, the Blues should have shown at least some progress. But is not.
Recent draws with strong Liverpool, West Ham, Newcastle, well, a slippery loss to Borussia in the Champions League, can also be understood, but how can one explain the 0-1 in the Premier League match against the Southampton?
After leaving for Dortmund, I myself defended Chelsea, referring to banal bad luck and poorly realized chances, but now it has finally become clear that this is not just a series of accidents, but a crooked and even ugly puzzle that the coach in chief failed to arm Graham Potter. Potentially the big picture can be beautiful, but apparently Potter has no idea how to put it together.
Photo source: IMAGO
Southampton was the perfect rival to gain self-confidence and go on to the white streak of the club’s life, because the team is last in the table (4 wins and 18 goals in 22 games), many players were injured, and some others have barely recovered from injury, but even the worst team in England’s top division was too tough for current Chelsea.
Chelsea once again outplayed the opponent by creating chances (1.62xG vs. 0.62xG), but this in no way justifies the losers. Firstly, the ‘aristocrats’ should have created a lot more chances against one of the worst defensive teams in the league (44 goals conceded, only Bournemouth worse). And secondly, Chelsea did not look like a higher-class team in terms of the game at all.
The match statistics eloquently confirm that Chelsea did not seem stronger. In addition, in the first half, Potter’s team lost in shots, possession, number of attacks and, most importantly, in the score – 0:1. It was only in the second half, when Southampton pressed close to their goal to maintain the lead, that Chelsea began to lean on the opponent, but overall there were almost no real scoring opportunities.
Chelsea did not and still do not have a pattern of play, and the whole idea boils down to a simple hope of expensive bought players not living up to expectations. For example, the same Mikhail Mudrik, who was valued by Chelsea at about 100 million euros, did not score a single goal action in five games for Chelsea. Against Southampton, he came out alone in the second half, but in 30 minutes he scored just 3 of 7 accurate passes and one meaningless strike.
Chelsea’s problem is not with Mudrik or other newcomers, but with management. Bowley thought such a massive buy-and-rebuild would bring immediate results, but Chelsea became a laughing stock. It is impossible for Potter to rebuild the entire team in a few games, but this does not relieve him of responsibility either. I think that in the near future it is worth waiting for the dismissal of him.
There aren’t that many suitable candidates on the free coach market. Zidane will not agree, Gerrard will not carry it out, the return of Lampard or Tuchel will be ridiculous, but then who? In theory, Benitez, Luis Enrique, Mauricio Pochettino are fit for status, but something says they don’t want to risk their reputations and lead the club through a crisis. Chelsea fans may have to endure Potter’s torment for the rest of the season.
