In basic terms, Chelsea’s start to the 2023-24 Premier League campaign has been a disaster.
Five games into the new season, Mauricio Pochettino’s team has collected five points and is 14th in the table. They won just once, and even that was probably their simplest game of the season, at home to a Luton Town side who had yet to collect a point.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way. Yes, Chelsea have a very expensive assembled squad. Today’s football coverage is extremely obsessed with the transfer market; the success or failure of the pitch is immediately considered in relation to spending. Here, the focus is on whether Chelsea are playing well or not.
And, in general, they have.
They started slowly against Liverpool on the opening weekend but, after the equaliser, they were the better side and could have grabbed a winner late on. In a 3-1 defeat at West Ham United, they were guilty of shockingly scoring a set piece and failed to make their one-man advantage count in the second half, but the change in game a great goal by Michail Antonio from the left. Chelsea’s defense was rarely opened up.
In a 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest, Chelsea were the better side, should have scored more goals and only allowed Forest one chance – after a long press and a good quick to rest. And against Bournemouth on Sunday, they largely denied their opponents opportunities and played very well from the back, attacking in numbers.
Of course, things are not perfect. With such a newly assembled squad, it is inevitable to think that the problem is the lack of togetherness and understanding between the players. But, actually, watching the matches tells you otherwise.
Raheem Sterling, arguably Chelsea’s brightest player, developed good relationships with overlapping right-back Malo Gusto and centre-forward Nicolas Jackson, who made the right moves in anticipation of Sterling low balls into the box. Jackson also showed the beginning of an understanding with Mykhailo Mudryk, both when he fell late against Liverpool – the Ukrainian rounded Alisson but took a heavy touch and the chance was lost – and also in a one-two series against Bournemouth on Sunday.
The real problem at Chelsea is not the relationships between the players, it’s that the individuals have not been resolved.
Up front, Jackson is extremely lively and shows promise in a variety of situations. He links the play well. He offers speed in the backfield, especially on the left lane. Although he doesn’t offer much of an aerial threat, he does well when the wingers or wing-backs cross.
Jackson’s problem isn’t tactical or about his relationship with teammates, it’s that he’s (quite literally at times) still finding his feet in English football. He pushed a seemingly forgettable chance against Forest and also failed to connect with a good cut. He has just one goal, out of an expected goals (xG) tally of 3.3. That’s a poor showing but suggests an improvement is likely, if not guaranteed.
Interestingly, in his only top-flight campaign, at Villarreal, he scored 13 goals from an xG of 8.5, a significant overperformance, despite ultimately a relatively modest goals tally.
Moises Caicedo, the most expensive of Chelsea’s summer recruits, has been notably off the pace so far. He conceded a penalty against West Ham, and caught for Forest’s winner at Stamford Bridge, effectively responsible for two of Chelsea’s five concessions. But based on his performances at Brighton, he is likely to improve.
In his place for the goalless draw at Bournemouth, Pochettino handed a full league debut to Lesley Ugochukwu, who performed well. Happy to receive the ball under pressure and good on the turn, the 19-year-old seems perfect for a deep midfield role. His problem was that the other two midfielders, Conor Gallagher and Enzo Fernandez, were in very high positions, and he struggled to connect with them. Pochettino tried to solve the issue at half-time by tilting the midfield trio, but it was still a work in progress. Fernandez’s position, excellent at finding space and able to play in different roles, is crucial in determining Chelsea’s default playing style.
Defensively, Chelsea are very good. Their biggest scare against Bournemouth came from a quick-taken and well-worked free-kick that Dango Ouattara should have finished with – and they looked a little dangerous with quick runners lurking at the back. at the far post, as demonstrated by their concession against Liverpool on the opening weekend.
But Chelsea didn’t have many chances. According to Opta, their opponents’ open-play xG tally is the second lowest in the Premier League. Thiago Silva, 39 next week, remains one of the best center backs in the league.
And, while we’re on the subject, their own open-play xG tally is the sixth best, behind champions City and the impressive Brighton & Hove Albion, but just behind Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur . and Liverpool. Only Brentford have generated more xG from set pieces.
Pochettino’s team also controls the games, averaging the highest share of possession in the league (69.6 percent), although it is worth considering that this is part of the state of the game – It must Chelsea to run for full matches against Forest and Bournemouth.
Of course, not everyone cares about statistical analysis, but in the end the numbers only represent what is clear from Chelsea’s point of view – their defense is strong, their midfield may need a couple of tweaks. tweak, their attackers are on the same wavelength and lack small details. .
Everyone wants Chelsea to be in crisis, but it seems clear that they are not.
(Top photos via Getty Images)