Premier League giants Chelsea, up until a couple of fixtures ago, were one of the teams to watch out for in the competition. Alongside Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur, Frank Lampard’s men were also tearing things apart at the top of the table, gradually making strides in a positive direction. While Spurs have carried on in the same way they started, the Blues have actually fallen face-first over the last week. It all began with a rather stale 1-1 draw against Krasnodar in the Champions League.
Even though they had already finished the group as the leaders, it showed a bit of naivety from the London club. Lampard’s team selection was perfectly fine as it gave some fringe players opportunities to come into the game. However, their performance level and the general tactical setup were both highly questionable. The more optimistic fans of the Stamford Bridge side would likely have thought that they didn’t give much importance to that fixture and that they would get back into form with a win against Everton next weekend. As it turned out, they lost 1-0 to the Toffees.
Chelsea had barely any rest before the next fixture as well, as they were set to face off against Wolves on Tuesday evening. Despite naming as strong a team as Lampard possibly could given the injuries, the Blues fell to an unexpected 2-1 defeat, where goals from Daniel Podence and Pedro Neto ensured that the London club left the Molineux with nothing to show for their efforts. Olivier Giroud opened the scoring for the Blues in the second half, only for Podence to soon equalise. Wolves’ prodigious speedster Pedro Neto then scored the winner in second-half stoppage time, to run further salt in the Chelsea wounds.
Here Are The Three Lessons Learnt From Chelsea’s 2-1 Defeat To Wolves:
Three Lessons Learnt From Chelsea’s 2-1 Defeat To Wolves
Hakim Ziyech Is A Key Player
The Moroccan playmaker only arrived at Stamford Bridge from Ajax in the summer, but his influence on the team has been apparent to see. The trickster is yet to lose a game when he has played for Chelsea, and his absence seriously hurt the creative core of this dangerous Chelsea team. With Kai Havertz not performing up to standard and Mason Mount putting in more of an industrious role, it then becomes Ziyech’s responsibility to create openings. His link-up play with Reece James has been one of their best attacking outlets, and his return will surely be greeted with much fanfare.
Kurt Zouma Isn’t All That
The Frenchman has started the season in excellent fashion, and some of his performances have been quite brilliant as well. Despite all of that, there have been instances where his former erratic nature has come to the fore, and that will surely be a worry for Frank Lampard. The Blues have depended on the defensive combination of Thiago Silva and Zouma so far, and it has worked for the most part. However, his displays in the last two games have both beer poor, and questions have to be asked about whether he can bring out the consistency required to perform at this level.
Giroud Isn’t The Man For The Job
The Frenchman’s four goals in the Champions League a couple of weeks ago was a truly impressive performance, but since that point, not everything has gone his way. Yes, he did score the opening goal in the defeat to Wolves, but apart from that, he offered very little even as the focal point of the attack. The former Arsenal man doesn’t seem to have the strength and intelligence required to lead this Chelsea line, and that is apparent in some of the touches he makes. Moving for a replacement in January could well be on the agenda for Lampard’s men.
