After three consecutive victories, Chelsea revealed its inherent limitations in a 0-1 defeat at Middlesbrough. Mauricio Pochettino still has a lot of work to do with a Blues team that is unstable in both offense and defense.
Losing 0-1 away from home is not a disaster. Chelsea still has a chance to come back in the semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge two weeks later. But what Chelsea showed at Riverside explains why they only stand in the middle of the Premier League table, and a stable performance is a luxury for this team.
If a team loses too much, don’t dream too high. The defeat at Middlesbrough was Chelsea’s ninth loss after 26 matches in all competitions. Since the beginning of last season, Chelsea has lost a total of 31 matches. Only Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest have lost more (both 32 matches) among Premier League teams. If only away from home, Chelsea has lost 21 matches, more than any other team.
Pochettino’s immense disappointment after losing to Middlesbrough
Chelsea lost to Middlesbrough, not because of subjectivity. Pochettio has launched a very strong squad with many good players, including the £200 million midfielder pair Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo. But this blockbuster pair was overshadowed by Dan Barlaser, a cheap contract that Middlesbrough only spent 900,000 pounds to buy from Rotherham. Barlaser himself tore through the Chelsea defense with a long pass that allowed Isaiah Jones to cross for Hayden Hackney to score the only goal of the match.
Hackney’s goal pointed out the fact that Lewil Colwill should return to his natural position as a centre-back instead of sticking to the left wing. The 20-year-old Chelsea player lacks both the speed and agility needed for a full-back. But not only Colwill’s left wing; the other side of professional right-back Malo Gusto is no better. The young French player played as well against Crystal Palace as he did against Luton and Middlesbrough.
Cole Palmer had an ungainly day in front of the opponent’s goal
Instability haunts all of Pochettino’s young players. They cannot maintain stable performance for several weeks. Cole Palmer is a prime example. Chelsea’s number one goalscorer this season (8 goals) performed excellently against Luton and Preston before becoming an amateur striker at Middlesbrough.
Palmer missed three great chances on the day he was ranked highest in attack. Palmer is dynamic and daring but lacks coolness and composure in front of the goal. Conor Gallagher also trembled during his near-miss finish.
Chelsea can win 3-1 to 4-1 if their strikers do their jobs. But the word “if” only denounces the Blues’ poor finishing ability. Pochettino’s students launched 18 shots, of which 12 were on target, but failed to score any goals out of 4 clear opportunities. The possession rate of up to 72% further shows the Blues’ helplessness against the opponent in the middle of the championship rankings.
Chelsea players have squandered too many opportunities
Chelsea bought two strikers, Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku, but one of them did not finish well, and the other was constantly injured. Buying more strikers in the January transfer window is not in owner Todd Boehly’s plan.
Pochettino had to make do with what was at hand. And that is definitely not an offensive front that can satisfy the Argentine coach. Cole Palmer is, after all, just a rising young star who needs more time to perfect. Raheem Sterling and Noni Madueke are better at disrupting than scoring. Mudryk’s good and bad matches are just like the face of Chelsea.
Chelsea lacks both lethality and ruthlessness. That is not a team that can do anything big this season.
Thiago Silva set a special milestone.Starting in the match against Middlesbrough, midfielder Thiago Silva became the oldest player to play in the semi-finals of the English League Cup in the past 10 years. The Chelsea player was 39 years and 109 days old when he was a guest at Riverside. Previously, in 2014, Ryan Giggs (MU) played against Sunderland at the age of 40 years and 39 days.