Two reasons behind Chelsea's subpar performances so far
Chelsea lost 0-1 to Aston Villa in a Premier League at Stamford Bridge last Sunday, September 24. Mauricio Pochettino’s side have now lost three of their six matches and are languishing at the 14th position in the league table with five points from six matches.
Chelsea is now closer to the relegation zone than they are to the top six, which is quite unfortunate given the amount of spending the Blues have done prior to the season. Unless they improve drastically, Pochettino’s job will be under considerable pressure.
Chelsea is still dealing with injuries to players like Christopher Nkunku, Trevor Chalobah, and Romeo Lavia, but their performance has been disappointing even after keeping those issues in mind.
On that note, let us take a look at two reasons behind their subpar performance:
#1. Lack of balance on the side:
Chelsea have had to play Conor Gallagher as a defensive midfielder and Enzo Fernandez as a No. 10, which are definitely not their preferred positions. Their formation has varied from a 3-4-3 to a 4-2-3-1 and they have suffered because of a lack of a proper defensive midfielder until Moises Caicedo’s signing.
Even Caicedo had a nightmarish debut for them, committing a foul to concede a penalty against West Ham United. Pochettino has not been able to accommodate Ben Chilwell in his starting line-up in the last couple of matches, with Levi Colwill playing as the left-back. The decision to drop Chilwell is a debatable one at best.
Hence, they have looked anything but a cohesive unit so far this season and they will need to sort those things out.
#2. Lack of teeth in attack:
Only Raheem Sterling among Chelsea’s attackers has looked decent in terms of his performances this season. However, Sterling has often lacked support up front, with the likes of Nicolas Jackson and Mykhailo Mudryk flattering to deceive.
Jackson is yet to score for his new club after having played six matches for them. He has impressed with his hold-up play and work-rate, but the primary job of a striker remains to find the net for his team.
Mudryk did not start for Chelsea in the first few matches but has started on the left flank since then. However, aside from a few sporadic flashes of brilliance, his performance has remained unsatisfactory in general.
To make matters worse for the club, Carney Chukwemeka suffered an injury and is out till the end of October as per the reports. As a result, the Blues have scored only five goals in six matches, which is not a good return for a club of their stature.