Tactical mistakes and defensive problems reveal worrying gaps in Chelsea’s gameplan on their pre-season tour. But with Pedro Neto on the way and eleven days to shape up, can there be hope for the Blues still?
The sinking feeling when your team can not seem to pull it off? Such is the experience Chelsea supporters have been on during their rollercoaster US tour. The Blues have left more questions than answers after one win from five matches.
Unpacking Chelsea’s American Adventure
Chelsea played out the final game of their whistle-stop USA tour yesterday, losing the last of their 5 friendlies overseas against Real Madrid. Much like the Ethereum Price Market Rate, results and sentiment have swung wildly up and down through these weeks – but let’s face it, there was more down than up by the end of the 16 days in the US.
Wrexham, Celtic, Club America, Man City, Real Madrid. Draw, loss, win, loss, loss. Not a classic set of results.
The win against Club America was sadly more of the exception than the norm. We assumed they’d be bad, but they were really, really poor, and while a comfortable 3-0 win gave us a brief fillip, we all knew it was going to be about how the next two games went – sadly, they both were pretty comprehensive defeats against good teams.
Of course you can say we’re undercooked and unfit, with plenty of players still to be reintroduced – but the same is just as true (if not more true) when it comes to City and Madrid. Celtic were farther along in their preparation (and looked it), but those final two games are what really worry us.
When Playing Pretty Becomes Playing Risky
The issues we have are structural – the first half against Madrid last night was a clear example. The defenders were the ones who ended up making the errors – Benoit Badiashile, Levi Colwill, Reece James and Malo Gusto all had shaky moments – but the sense was that they were being put into bad positions by the structure in two ways.
Firstly, there was just a lack of cover ahead of them. Enzo Fernandez was pushing ahead to join the attacks, leaving Romeo Lavia as the sole shield ahead of the backline.
Secondly, the way they have been instructed to play out from the back simply invites pressure and creates the opportunity for errors. Even before Madrid opened the scoring, there was an embarrassing moment in the box where defenders tried to play the ball out rather than just booting it clear, their decision making clearly clouded by weeks of instructions about playing their way out of trouble.
New goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen didn’t inspire too much confidence behind them either.
New Faces, Same Problems
So what needs to change before we hit the season? Well without doubt, the defence and the defending is what worries us most. The attacking has shown flashes of promise and some nice moves – and is still missing some of its key pieces.
The reintroduction of Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and even Marc Cucurella will improve things without doubt. But it’s hard to see any of them giving us any defensive solidity – quite the opposite in fact.
Even though Chelsea has signed Pedro Neto from Wolves this summer, there are certain benefits and risks to this transfer. Positivity aside, Neto has experience in the Premier League having played for Wolves previously. He boosts Chelsea’s attacking options and provides a goal threat with a creative spark – something the club wants this season. Neto’s injury history has however left him out for long spells in recent seasons.
As Chelsea signs Neto into their squad, management of his workload will be key to limiting his chances of further injuries and maximizing his contribution to the side. This is important given the club’s ambitions of winning the title and the Champions League.
Can Chelsea Turn the Tides?
There’s still plenty of time to turn things around, and we’re always reminded that you can’t take anything from preseason results. But you can take something from preseason performances, and what we’ve seen so far has made us very worried indeed.
Still, there are still 11 days to go until we kick the season off, and a lot of progress can be made in that time.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino will need to use those remaining days wisely. Sessions on defensive organisation and possession will be intense at Cobham training ground. Returning senior players should steady the ship, but the systemic issues require the most attention.
New signings like Neto need to be accelerated, while defensive protocols are drawn up to protect the backline from being exposed. Pochettino’s record suggests he can iron out these wrinkles – but the Premier League’s opening day is hugely important and patience is wearing thin among Chelsea faithful.
