Main asset since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea’s defense was shattered in the league on Saturday. And here are the “Blues” forced to tighten the bolts against Porto Wednesday in the Champions League (9:00 pm), during a quarter-final first leg relocated to Seville.
We did not recognize Chelsea: the rearguard of the Blues, who was pierced five times by the relegation West Bromwich Albion, was very reminiscent of certain defensive performances of the Frank Lampard era.
Lack of fixation of the ball carrier, loose marking, hazardous placement, total lack of cohesion … Impossible to recognize the team which had kept its clean sheet in 12 of the 14 previous matches, including the two in the round of 16 against the ‘Atlético Madrid (1-0, 2-0).
Despite heavy investments from the club this summer, resolutely oriented towards the offensive sector, with Timo Werner, Kai Havertz or Hakim Ziyech, the former Paris SG coach was keen to make the blue fortress impregnable upon his arrival.
He immediately opted for a system with three central, and two pistons which do not count their efforts on the sides, without forgetting the reassuring presence of N’Golo Kanté in front of the defense.
Difficult choices for Tuchel
Absent on Saturday during the rout at Stamford Bridge – he will be present on the bench at best on Wednesday – the French world champion has greatly missed his team and the red card received for his return by Thiago Silva after a half. hour of play, nothing helped.
This fact of the game is far from explaining everything, even if we can note that the 7 goals conceded by Chelsea de Tuchel were conceded when he was not on the field.
By relaunching players like Antonio Rüdiger and Andrea Christensen in the axis, the German had so far obtained more than satisfactory results, even when Silva was injured in February against Tottenham, missing the next 7 days and the eighth of C1.
In this first leg “away” – a very relative notion, the first leg and the return leg arguing in Seville because of the traffic restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic – Chelsea will have to quickly regain their confidence.
Tuchel has some tough choices to make.
The two warnings Silva received can be blamed on a lack of pace after a fairly long absence and, at 36, that’s understandable, but perhaps crippling for a game with such a high stake.
Porto without fear and without pressure
Antonio Rüdiger, who had provided an honorable interim role as defense boss, has missed out on two of the last three matches and his Sunday training session was cut short after a clash with goalkeeper Kepa.
As for Kurt Zouma, his responsibility – even if he was not alone – in the shipwreck on Saturday, does not really plead in his favor, while Tuchel already trusted him much less than Lampard.
In front of them, they will find a Porto who no longer doubts anything after their incredible qualification against Juventus, snatched in extra time in Turin (2-1, 2-3).
Distanced by Sporting in the league, Sergio Conceiçao’s team are the lowest ranked of the 8 teams still in the UEFA index race, behind Chelsea, but they are under much less pressure.
To cross the quarters of the C1 for the first time since José Mourinho had led the “Dragons” to the final victory in 2003-2004 would already be a great achievement, while the Londoners harbor much higher ambitions.
The good news for the Blues concerns the suspensions of Iranian Mehdi Taremi and midfielder Sergio Oliveira, which significantly dull the attacking potential of the Portuguese. But the defensive imperative remains the same: Chelsea must tighten their guard.
Chelsea were not recognized: the Blues rearguard, who was stabbed five times by the relegation West Bromwich Albion, was very reminiscent of certain defensive performances of the Frank Lampard era. ball, loose marking, hazardous placement, total lack of cohesion … Impossible to recognize the team which had kept its clean sheet in 12 of the 14 previous matches, including the two in the round of 16 against Atlético Madrid (1- 0, 2-0) .Despite heavy investments by the club this summer resolutely oriented towards the offensive sector, with Timo Werner, Kai Havertz or Hakim Ziyech, the former coach of Paris SG had endeavored to make the blue fortress impregnable He had immediately opted for a system with three central, and two pistons that do not count their efforts on the sides, not to mention the reassuring presence of a N’Golo Kanté in front of the defense. Tuchel Absent on Saturday during the rout in Sta mford Bridge – he will be present on the bench at best on Wednesday -, the French world champion missed his team a lot and the red card received for his return by Thiago Silva after half an hour of play, did not This fact of the game is far from explaining everything, even if we can note that the 7 goals conceded by Chelsea from Tuchel were conceded when he was not on the field by relaunching players like Antonio Rüdiger and Andrea Christensen in the axis, the German had so far obtained more than satisfactory results, even when Silva was injured in February against Tottenham, missing the following 7 days and the eighth of C1. In this first leg “to outside “- a very relative notion, the outward journey and return arguing in Seville because of traffic restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic – Chelsea will have to quickly regain her insurance. Tuchel has difficult choices to make. The two warnings received by Silva can be attributed to a man that pace after a long enough absence and, at 36, that’s understandable, but perhaps crippling for a match with such a high stake. Porto without fear and without pressure Antonio Rüdiger, who had provided an honorable interim in the role of defense boss, has not been lined up in two of the last three games and his Sunday training session was cut short after a clash with goalkeeper Kepa. As for Kurt Zouma, his responsibility – albeit not ‘was alone – in the shipwreck on Saturday, does not really plead in his favor, while Tuchel already trusted him much less than Lampard, in front of them they will find a Porto who no longer doubts anything after his incredible qualification against Juventus, snatched in extra time in Turin (2-1, 2-3). Distanced by Sporting in the league, Sergio Conceiçao’s team is the lowest ranked of the 8 teams still in the race for the UEFA index , behind Chelsea, but it has much less pressure. s quarterbacks in the C1 for the first time since José Mourinho had led the “Dragons” to the final victory in 2003-2004 would already be a great achievement, while the Londoners harbor much higher ambitions. The good news for the Blues concerns the suspensions of Iranian Mehdi Taremi and midfielder Sergio Oliveira, which significantly dull the offensive potential of the Portuguese. But the defensive imperative remains the same: Chelsea must tighten their guard.
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