Chelsea were dreadful in duels and set pieces in tonight’s defeat, and Xabi Alonso said as much post-game.
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Chelsea have been beaten comfortable by Brentford in tonight’s Friday Night Kick off, a major blow just before an extended international break.
The Blues looked solid in the first half, but collapsed after the break.
So what went wrong in the game? Xabi Alonso had his say in the press conference post-match, when asked to respond to Levi Colwill’s claims after the game that his team were bullied at set pieces.
Alonso points to multiple areas where Chelsea let themselves down
“It was not just set-pieces [where we weren’t good enough],” Alonso pointed out.
“It was also in defensive duels, in the build-up, in controlling games. We conceded the first goal and then we lost shape and conceded on a transition. To be able to understand the game and know what it takes to compete until the end. It’s a process.”
“We dropped our consistency, our competitive mentality needed in the second-half,” the boss admitted.
This is a crucial three week spell to get players back and get things in order.
In other news…
Chelsea so far this season have been good in attack and less good in midfield and defence. Today they were bad in all three.
Alonso brought on Estevao – but only in the 88th minute, a long time after Geovany Quenda got his chance as first attacking sub off the bench.
Jordan Henderson was the outstanding Chelsea player in the first half, not for doing anything flashy but just for giving this team some calm and control in midfield.
