Chelsea’s largest weak spot uncovered once more as dreadful run prolonged in Man Utd defeat
C
helsea have turn out to be toothless in opposition to England’s largest and finest groups.
A 4-1 defeat away at Manchester United was simply one other unhappy episode in a dismal season however the pattern of poor performances in large home matches is turning into an more and more frequent theme.
Casemiro headed in an opener after simply six minutes at Old Trafford, earlier than Anthony Martial tapped in a second simply earlier than half-time and Bruno Fernandes gained and scored a penalty.
Marcus Rashford added a fourth after a dreadful error by Wesley Fofana, whereas Joao Felix netted a late comfort aim for Chelsea.
It was a exceptional scoreline after a primary half by which the guests performed properly however wasted large possibilities by Mykhailo Mudryk, Kai Havertz and Conor Gallagher.
The defeat prolonged Chelsea’s winless streak in opposition to United to 11 league video games, because the Red Devils secured Champions League qualification on account of their large win.
Such numbers are nothing new for the Blues. Manchester City, for example, gained their sixth match in a row in opposition to Chelsea on Sunday, the primary time of their historical past they’ve managed such a run.
Since the Blues gained the Champions League remaining in 2021 below Thomas Tuchel, they haven’t even managed to attain in opposition to Pep Guardiola’s facet.
This pattern, in fact, pre-dates the present Boehly-Clearlake possession group however below them it has solely gotten worse.
Since the beginning of final season, Chelsea have misplaced in all 15 of their matches in opposition to groups beginning above them within the Premier League desk. Those defeats ended Tuchel’s title problem final season and compelled the Blues to accept a race to the highest 4.
This season, with so many groups above the Blues, they haven’t even been in a position to compete for a spot in both Europe’s second or third-tier competitions.
The lack of competitiveness and management at Chelsea is an issue that considerations interim supervisor Frank Lampard, who was a part of an aggressive Roman Abramovich-era dressing room.
He stated forward of kick-off: “My experience of football is that if you switch it off, it’s not easy to switch it on. It doesn’t always become an overnight remedy.
“It’s not going to be my responsibility but from my experience of being in a consistent performing club for many years, the moments you do switch off become very hard to switch it on. That will be the test next year.”
It is why he hasn’t tried to sugarcoat or defend a bunch of gamers who’ve misplaced a core Chelsea worth: the need to win.
He did, not less than, play Chelsea’s youngest XI in Premier League historical past with begins handed to Carney Chukwuemeka, Lewis Hall and Noni Madueke.
Mauricio Pochettino will quickly arrive as the brand new supervisor, the son of a farm labourer from Santa Fe in Argentina who likes to explain himself as a fighter. His process from day one will likely be to re-ignite the hearth inside this weak group of Chelsea gamers.