Bournemouth 4-0 Chelsea: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis | Premier League 2018-19

#5 Are the Blues not motivated enough?

Maurizio Sarri

For some reason, Chelsea have dropped their levels of intensity and interest this season many a time. It was seen against Newcastle, in the 3-1 defeat at Tottenham and probably, for an entire 90 minutes against Arsenal.

While going forward, they are either reliant on Hazard to produce moments of magic or are way too slow and flat-footed while working the ball in the opposition-half - which is the last thing a team needs when it's drilled by Maurizio Sarri.

In terms of defensive performances as well, the Blues have surrendered their focus during set-pieces and fallen apart to counter-attacks. Are they not motivated enough? Did the open criticism exercised by Sarri not affect them?

Don't they know that if they lose it from now, Chelsea are most likely to lose Eden Hazard as well? Sarri admitted, after the game:

"Maybe it's my fault because maybe I'm not able to motivate this group and these players. I don't know why. But I need to understand and we need to understand very soon because we have to play in three days."

It's time to press reset, muster a few consecutive victories and strengthen the bid to claim a top 4 spot. Huddersfield up next at home, Chelsea need a huge win to restore confidence and swagger heading into the tough round of fixtures in February.