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Chelsea were left stunned and humiliated as they endured their worst defeat since they lost 7-0 at Nottingham Forest in April 1991. The players were clueless on the pitch, as Maurizio Sarri looked helpless and baffled on the touchline during their inexplicable 6-0 defeat to the current Premier League leaders.
Manchester City did their job in sensational fashion, as they scored four goals in the first 25 minutes. Their powerful display did send a strong message to the rest of the title challengers, but as evident, Chelsea were unresponsive and showed little character to get back into the game, which will surely be a cause of concern for Sarri.
Chelsea are currently 6th in the Premier League. Although just one point separate them from a top four spot, Chelsea's abysmal away form has been the reason behind their poor run recently. Since the start of the year 2019, Chelsea have the worst goal difference away from home in the Premier League, and even Sergio Aguero has scored more goals than their entire team in the Premier League.
Without further ado, let us evaluate three possible reasons for Chelsea's poor form recently.
#1 Lack of Plan B
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri himself defended his 'Sarriball', and refused to acknowledge a need for 'Plan B'. He was adamant in sticking to his own style of play and philosophy, but tactically, the current Chelsea squad needs versatility and dynamism.
Chelsea players were left clueless in their defeats against Bournemouth and Manchester City in the Premier League. They are simply helpless when their plan A fails to work and whether the coach admits it or not, it makes Chelsea more predictable for their opponents.
Managers of the current top two in the Premier League- Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp- did stick to their own style, but took their sweet time to adapt to the Premier League as well. Maurizio Sarri should take a leaf out of their book and be more versatile with his tactics, especially against tougher oppositions, which may prove beneficial in future.
#2 Defensively poor
Chelsea has conceded 29 goals in the Premier League this season, which is less than teams like Arsenal and Manchester United, but their recent poor defensive work was depicted in the scorelines.
The most important job for Sarri will be to give the defense more shape as the season progresses. Chelsea will look to win the Europa League and meet Manchester City at the Carabao Cup final in the coming month, and they will need a much improved defense for better results.
#3 Lack of Squad Depth
Under the tutelage of Maurizio Sarri, Napoli's style of play and football were exciting to watch. But Chelsea have been too inconsistent and are still finding a way to adapt to Sarri's style of play. Although the fluidity in their attack, thanks to their Belgian talisman Eden Hazard, has resembled Sarri's Napoli, Chelsea has often looked clueless.
Clearly, the difference between the quality of personnel in the squad is a factor. While Eden Hazard has been sensational this season with his 12 goals and 10 assists in the Premier League, he is almost a lone warrior upfront at times, with little support from his partners like Willian, Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata. Morata was loaned to Atletico Madrid in the January transfer window to make way for the more proven Gonzalo Higuain, but the team depth is nowhere near the top two teams in the Premier League.
It is crystal clear that Sarri needs reinforcements to boost his chances of winning silverware from the next season, if he stays.
