Mistakes beginning to derail Chelsea’s season as Blues suffer shock defeat to West Ham
Chelsea have spent so many weeks sitting atop the Premier League standings. But they will end matchday 15 outside the top two after a shock 3-2 defeat at West Ham United.
The Blues made a great start to the season, racking up several clean sheets on their way to topping the table. However, things haven’t been rosy in recent weeks. They have dropped points against Burnley and Manchester United, with a defeat to West Ham United on Saturday being their latest low.
Thomas Tuchel’s side endured a similar phase last season, but recovered superbly to secure a top-four place and also win the UEFA Champions League. The difference this time, though, is that they are now involved in the title race, and their rivals are showing no signs of slowing down.
It ends in defeat for the Blues.
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Mistake-ridden Blues lose to West Ham
West Ham deserve all the credit for beating Chelsea at the London Stadium on Saturday. Under David Moyes, The Hammers have been one of the most consistent teams in the Premier League.
However, this defeat was as much Chelsea’s own doing as it was West Ham’s efforts. The Blues took the lead twice through Thiago Silva and Mason Mount, but failed to hold on to it on both occasions.
Even more worrying is the fact that the goals they conceded were from avoidable mistakes. Jorginho and Edouard Mendy were culpable for West Ham’s first equaliser. Mendy delayed clearing the ball and eventually conceded a penalty after fouling the tenacious Jarrod Bowen. Manuel Lanzini stepped up and converted from the spot.
Bowen was again left unmarked on the edge of the box as he fired the ball beyond Mendy to restore parity in the second half. West Ham’s winning goal was scored by Arthur Masuaku, but again Mendy was at fault after stepping off his line.
Eventually, Chelsea’s mistakes made it easy for The Hammers to walk away with all three points, which could derail the team’s promising campaign.
Not our day but we’ll be back on Wednesday.
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Chelsea drop to third in Premier League
Thomas Tuchel’s side has now dropped to third place in the Premier League after losing to West Ham. With Liverpool and Manchester City winning their matches, The Blues now trail their rivals. They are two behind City and one adrift of Liverpool.
The point gap is still very close, but as title contenders, Chelsea cannot afford to drop points in such must-win games.
"We gave easy goals away; this is unusual - big mistakes that lead to big chances and easy goals. We've done this against United, Watford and today,” Tuchel lamented after the game, as quoted by Sky Sports.
"We are not good enough in the details at the moment. This is a game about details; I can only repeat myself. Without doing big mistakes, there's a big chance we win this game."
The Chelsea manager reiterated that the team needs to have the right attitude to remain in the title race, saying in this regard:
"The (title) race is not interesting at the moment; what is interesting is the next 90 minutes. We have to have the focus right, the attitude right, and to take care of the details because we are not good enough with the details at the moment.”
Chelseas' performances have dropped significantly in recent weeks, and unless they buck up quickly, they could soon be left behind in the title race.