Blues emulate the Gunners in UCL loss

Chelsea decided to follow in Arsenal‘s footsteps by reading the same script of London clubs capitulating to Italian adversaries in the Champions League. Last night, Napoli punished them with three goals while Chelsea had only one from Mata to show for. Chelsea’s defensive frailties shadowed their lack of attacking incision. Not that Napoli were any better as they were only saved by their dangerous attacking play.In a game plagued by defensive fragility and lapses in concentration from both teams, it was a shocking come to terms for most of us as it was shabby to say the least. With goals stemming from defensive blunders and leaky defences, both sides defence were in shambles, characterized by sloppy play. There wasn’t any discipline shown in defending as a unit by both teams.But it was a different preposition from an attacking standpoint, as a lot of interest was shown in Napoli’s devastating break-neck counter attacks spearheaded by their “Holy Trinity” of attacking trident in the form of Cavani, Lavezzi and Hamsik. These players prove that Napoli, albeit their shaky defence, have enough firepower to trouble any side in this world. Chelsea clearly didn’t pay heed to this triple threat. They were on show to witness the might as Lavezzi grabbed a brace sandwiching Cavani’s strike, albeit falling behind first to a Mata opener. It was a day where attacking superiority and taking chances overshadowed the defensive instability of Napoli. In the 28th minute, Mata got the ball rolling capitalizing on Cannavaro’s error to pounce and sweep in a composed finish. Their joy was short-lived though as the holding midfield of Ramires and Meireles failed to mark the run of Lavezzi. He took the chance without any hesitation, dribbling into the gap in defense, and curling a brilliant effort to level the score.

And right before the interval, Cavani compounded their misery by coming back to clinch the lead, and despite using his shoulder to force the ball into the net, Chelsea had only themselves to blame with Ivanovic caught napping at the far post. The match was end to end, and Lavezzi grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, yet again providing the match winner as he consolidated Napoli’s lead. Napoli would be already be out of sight leaving Chelsea an uphill battle to turn it around at home if it wasn’t for Ashley Cole’s desperate last ditch goal line clearance from Maggio, conjured by Hamsik with a good show of skill. Instead, they are thrown a lifeline to try and salvage this game in the next leg at Stamford Bridge.Questions are raised on whether Chelsea can still turn it around at home. But the spotlight will clearly be on Villas Boas who is under much scrutiny from the media. One might wonder whether he will eventually melt under the media spotlight as he is in a precarious situation with the axe dangling above his head. No one would fancy being in his shoes at the moment.

Written by Eric Tai Shang JerFollow him on Twitter @Eric_Tsj