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The season began so brightly for Chelsea. Following on from the Champions League success, Thomas Tuchel began his first full season at the club. Up until matchday 14 the Blues led the table but they currently sit 15 points behind second-placed Liverpool.
Chelsea have only lost five games and two of those losses have come to Manchester City. There are some key issues that need to be resolved if the club wants to sustain a title challenge next season. Over the course of the article, we will look at three key areas that need improvement.
Misfiring Chelsea players
Chelsea have dropped six points in the table at home in games that the club should have easily won. Their 1-1 drawn games against Burnley, Manchester United, and Everton saw the team have a total of 72 shots against 13 from the opposing teams. Those six points would have taken the club up to 68 points in the table. These were games that left many Blues fans frustrated.
Romelu Lukaku was brought in to score goals but he featured in none of these games because he was injured. Kai Havertz, who recently hit form, only featured against Burnley. Lukaku has scored five goals in the league, Havertz has scored seven, while Timo Werner has scored four. The only player to reach double figures for the club in the league is Mason Mount with 10 goals.
The team has still improved on last season's goal tally, but those figures are nowhere near good enough for a team that should be challenging for the title. When it's not the lack of clinical edge, it is the individual errors that have led to the team dropping points.
Individual errors
Individual errors have been a problem for several seasons now. The goal conceded against United came after Jorginho was caught on the ball by Jadon Sancho. Arsenal's Eddie Nketiah scored the first goal on Wednesday after a poor backpass by Andreas Christensen. Jorginho misplaced a pass to Edouard Mendy which led to Mendy conceding a penalty against West Ham United. Schoolboy errors.
Several players have been responsible for silly turnovers in midfield due to a lack of quality. Marcos Alonso has started in 11 of the teams thirteen games in which the club have dropped points. The loss of Ben Chilwell has been a big blow but there was no reinforcement in January. N'Golo Kante and Jorginho have been on the decline but that was masked by an incredible six months.
Arsenal at home and Brentford at home were two games that were lost not by the opposing team's quality but by lack of quality on Chelsea's part. Six further points that, if added to the tally, would take the club up to 74 points for the season. It is at Stamford Bridge where several of these dropped points have come and that leads us to another issue of expectation.
Stamford Bridge breached
Chelsea have the second-best away record in the league, just behind Manchester City, a key area that Tuchel improved on over the last season. At home, the team sits ninth in the form table. It is a shock considering the club once went 86 games unbeaten at Stamford Bridge. It really is a form akin to the 2015-16 season when Chelsea finished tenth in the table overall. Why has this been the case?
At home, the Blues are by and large the favorites for most games. All the teams that Chelsea have dropped points against, bar City and Liverpool, came to the Bridge as underdogs. This is where the team has a mental barrier. Arsenal showed up last night on the back of three straight losses. Chelsea were the favorites at home but ended up losing.
Manchester United, Everton and Burnley are all teams that showed up at the Bridge with no real form but parked the bus and got the job done. Sure, the sanctions imposed on the club have meant that only 20,000 season ticket holders are allowed to attend games. Brentford and Arsenal both fell under that bracket as well. That should not be an excuse though.
It will be frustrating for Tuchel amidst COVID-19, the injuries, sanctions, etc., the problems that are easily rectified are the ones costing the team. The new owner has to be appointed as soon as possible because there is unease at the club at the moment. These areas can be addressed through recruitment, investment, etc but at the moment nothing can be done.
This season very much feels like the 2013-14 season under Jose Mourinho. The team fell short of the title for similar reasons, but those problems were addressed in the summer. In came Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas and the rest is history. Tuchel needs the backing but there is a lot more work that needs to be done on this squad to make it match the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool.
