What do Chelsea need to do to instigate a return to form?
The form table over the last seven league games makes grim reading for anyone connected to Chelsea.
The Londoners languish in 16th place, with only Ipswich Town, Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton doing worse. In the period between taking on Everton at Goodison Park on December 22 and Manchester City last weekend, Chelsea have accrued six points. That comprises of a solitary win, over struggling Wolves.
Enzo Maresca’s side have gone from second in the league and in the debate over their title credentials to sixth and gripped by serious doubts over whether they can secure Champions League qualification. Fifth should be enough to achieve that, depending on England’s UEFA co-efficient. But even that suddenly feels in question.
Starting with the visit of London rivals West Ham United on Monday, Chelsea need to turn the negative momentum around. But what issues does Maresca need to address to achieve that? Here The Athletic makes some suggestions.
Change the goalkeeper
Robert Sanchez has had more than enough chances to cement his spot as undisputed No 1.
No goalkeeper has made more errors leading to goals (five) in the Premier League this season, and he has kept just four clean sheets in 21 starts. Chelsea supporters are beginning to boo and sarcastically jeer him. That should never be condoned. But at the same time, his presence on the pitch is contributing to a negative atmosphere during matches, particularly at Stamford Bridge.
It is making it easier for opponents to play against them.
The club bought Filip Jorgensen from Villarreal for £20.7million ($25.7m) last summer and while he cannot be labelled the next Petr Cech just yet, the Denmark Under-21 international has made 13 appearances for Chelsea, mainly in cup competitions, so it is not a case of suddenly taking a gamble on someone untested.
Sanchez’s confidence must be low but dropping the 27-year-old could also be deemed a case of being cruel to be kind given the toxicity currently surrounding him.
Besides, Maresca should look at how Chelsea climbed from 12th to sixth last season after Djordje Petrovic replaced Sanchez between the posts, initially due to injury. The change was obviously not the only reason behind the upturn, but it has to be considered as a factor.
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Coax more goals from Jackson
Nicolas Jackson’s struggles in front of goal have coincided with Chelsea’s bad period. He has not found the net in any of the past seven league games, his worst run since joining from Villarreal for just over €35million in 2023.
The Senegal international’s assists against Bournemouth and Manchester City mean he has 14 goal involvements (nine goals and five assists) from 22 appearances this term, which is still a credible return, yet Chelsea need more from him.
Alexander Isak has shown what a difference a prolific centre-forward makes.
After beating Brentford on December 15, Chelsea were 11 points better off and 10 places higher than Newcastle United. Isak had already scored in three consecutive league games by then but has gone on to add another 10 to take his team one point and one place above them
Squeeze more contributions from the wingers
Opponents are naturally going to concentrate on stopping Chelsea’s best player, Cole Palmer, and their solitary striker, Jackson, from making an impact. That should mean space and opportunity for the wide players to chip in with goals.
However, Jadon Sancho and Pedro Neto have scored only three times between them in 37 league appearances.
Noni Madueke is Chelsea’s third-highest scorer in the league with seven, but even that positive figure comes with some caveats. Three of them came in his first league game at Wolves. Another was effectively stolen off Trevoh Chalobah in last week’s return match against the same opposition as he headed his team-mate’s effort in on the goal line, and then there was another tap-in at Manchester City last Saturday after Jackson capitalised on a mistake by Abdukodir Khusanov.
Sancho (four), Madueke (three) and Neto (two) have set up goals, too, but Maresca is entitled to expect a greater contribution from them in the final third, especially with Mykhailo Mudryk currently suspended after testing positive for a banned substance. The results of his B sample are unknown, but he is facing a lengthy ban if it also comes back positive.
Overcome the injuries
One of the reasons behind Chelsea’s decline has been the impact injuries are having on the squad.
Losing centre-backs Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile with hamstring injuries in December disrupted the back line. Chelsea have won just two league games since they were sidelined.
Perhaps the biggest blow of all, though, is Romeo Lavia being ruled out for the third time this campaign after sustaining a muscular injury against Bournemouth two weeks ago.
Chelsea have arguably played at their best under Maresca with Lavia at the base of midfield, but he has yet to complete 90 minutes since joining from Southampton for £53million in 2023. He is not due back until March.
Other players have sat out games with minor niggles and it has perhaps exposed the lack of strength in depth of the squad. It can come down to pure luck at times, but Maresca needs his key men to stay fit.
Play with a settled back line
This is connected to the above, but Maresca is not helping himself by constantly changing things at the back.
Most top defences have an established centre-half pairing, yet it has been anything but at Chelsea. Granted, injuries have played a part in the disruption. Fofana was first choice next to Levi Colwill until he went off against Aston Villa on December 1. But over the last nine league games, Colwill has gone on to play alongside Badiashile (once), Tosin Adarabioyo (four times), Josh Acheampong (twice) and Chalobah (twice).
Is it any wonder Chelsea as a team, and Colwill as an individual, have not looked convincing defensively recently?
Good defending relies on building relationships, understanding and communication. Maresca needs to decide on a pairing and stick with it for a run of games.
Be more proactive to maintain strong starts
In five of Chelsea’s last six matches, they have taken the lead but have gone on to win only once, against Wolves. That shows it is a case of Chelsea struggling to see out games rather than just suddenly being uncompetitive.
A look at the first-half and second-half standings in the division underlines the recent drop off.
Over the first 16 fixtures, Chelsea rank only one place higher for their first-half scores (fifth) than over the last seven matches (sixth). This suggests that the way they are beginning games has remained fairly consistent. But their second-half scores have seen a dramatic shift, dropping from third for the first 16 fixtures to 17th over the last seven.
Chelsea are clearly a lot easier to beat following the interval, and that would suggest fatigue is playing a part. But Maresca’s use of substitutes and lack of tactical changes is coming under increasing scrutiny. He needs to be more proactive.
In the defeat by Fulham, he made just one substitution, in the 73rd minute. In the draw with Crystal Palace, he made two, in the 81st and 86th minutes. Both were long after control of each contest had been surrendered. In the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, the Italian was forced to take off Lavia in the 56th minute due to injury, but the other three replacements only came on after Chelsea had fallen 2-1 behind.
Playing with a high line at Manchester City on Saturday was not working. Yet instead of using the half-time team talk to change tack at 1-1, Chelsea continued to play the same way. The hosts ran out comfortable 3-1 winners.
And finally… seize upon the stability with no transfer talk
The January transfer window has not helped. Maresca said so himself.
The Italian described it as “a disaster” given the impact all the talk surrounding players coming in or out has had on the squad. After Monday night’s deadline, there should be no more distractions — for a while, at least. Everyone at the training ground will benefit from a period of stability and they can fully concentrate on getting the results required.
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(Top photo: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Simon Johnson has spent the majority of his career as a sports reporter since 2000 covering Chelsea, firstly for Hayters and then the London Evening Standard. This included going to every game home and away as the west London club secured the Champions League in 2012. He has also reported on the England national team between 2008-19 and been a regular contributor to talkSPORT radio station for over a decade. Follow Simon on Twitter @SJohnsonSport
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