Chelsea's loss to Real Madrid exposed 3 weak positions in Thomas Tuchel's team.
Chelsea FC suffered a disappointing home defeat at the hands of Spanish giants Real Madrid during the first leg of their quarter-final encounter.
A sublime hat-trick from in-form striker Karim Benzema was enough to secure an emphatic 3-1 win for Carlo Ancelotti's team at Stamford bridge.
Chelsea haven't been at their best
A couple of individual errors from some key players ensured that the Blues will need a miracle in the second leg to secure a semi-final spot.
One major reality that was evident in Chelsea's defeat to Real Madrid was the fact that a few weaknesses were exposed in their team. Similar weaknesses popped up against Brentford in the Premier League, resulting in a 4-1 loss.
This article be having a look at three of those weaknesses.
Midfield
The 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge only showed how much Tuchel's team needed the presence of a recognized defensive midfielder.
The London side's midfield was all over the place against Real Madrid. They couldn't contain the firepower of the likes of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro.
Rio Ferdinand: “Toni Kroos, Casemiro and Luka Modric were excellent tonight in the midfield, especially Kroos. He created some crucial chances for Real Madrid. He made Kante push higher to track him and then he moved into space. He then creates space for Benzema and Modric.” https://t.co/cOrOVebk8B
Recall that Tuchel initially opted for the duo of Ngolo Kante and Jorginho in midfield. However, the combination wasn't effective, especially in the first half.
Kante was off pace in the game and Jorginho lacked the physicality to match Real Madrid's high press.
Tuchel decided to introduce Kovacic instead of Kante after the break, but the Croatian couldn't exert his dominance in midfield. This was due to Jorginho's inability to mop things up in midfield.
Despite the introduction of Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the 64th minute, the midfield still lacked that much-needed balance.
It would be wise for the Blues to sign a proper defensive midfielder. The likes of Kovacic and Loftus-Cheek will be given a lot of freedom, and the defense won't be exposed under pressure.
Wing-Backs
Another area that was greatly exposed against Real Madrid was the wing-back deficiency, which has been the strength of Tuchel's 3-4-3 formation.
The Blues manager opted to go for Cesar Azpilicueta at left wing-back instead of Marcos Alonso, and it backfired.
However, Azpilicueta wasn't really targeted on the left. Real Madrid overloaded the right side of the defense with Christensen being on the receiving end.
Chelsea were left wanting a decent left wing-back available, preferably Ben Chilwell. Azpilicueta would have operated in his preferred right centre-back role.
His experience would have helped in keeping Vinicius at bay, thus limiting the havoc he caused the Blues' defense
The horror duo #Benzema and #Vinicius
https://t.co/pXmA4sHJAY
Reece James, on the other hand, got carried away in attack and failed to track back to assist Christensen in holding off a very pacy Vinicius. The Brazilian combined well with Benzema to expose Chelsea's backline.
Tuchel's men need to sort out their wing-back situation ahead of next season and some quality back-ups need to be signed.
Attack
Aside from their only goal scorer Kai Havertz, every other attacking player for the Blues was below average.
The game was crying out for a tricky winger who could take on Real Madrid's defense and create goal scoring chances. None of Chelsea's wingers could do such.
The likes of Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount and Hakim Ziyech couldn't unlock a very resolute Real Madrid defense on a night when Chelsea needed goals.
Tuchel's team needed a winger in the mold of Vinicius, who can run at opposition defenses and create something out of nothing.
Vinicius Junior is up to five Champions League assists this season and 11 in all competitions 🪄 https://t.co/YJJl1BDGLP
Their lack of creativity saw them play multiple unnecessary side passes, just in a bid to find space between Real Madrid's defenses.
The Blues the will need to reinforce their wing play as it looks very impotent at the moment and try signing at least two good wingers in the summer.