3 reasons why Chelsea have lost so many matches this season

Chelsea Football Club
Chelsea Football Club

3. Forwards not contributing enough defensively

Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard

The Chelsea forwards have not contributed enough defensively. They usually do not press the opposition defenders much, and are not used to falling back to the middle third either.

As a result, Chelsea have often lacked in numbers in the middle third, and their opponents have taken advantage of that. Both Higuain and Pedro are on the wrong side of 30, and not very comfortable dropping down very frequently.

Moreover, Eden Hazard prefers to stay in the wing and cut in from there, but avoids his defensive duties sometimes. Also, Chelsea's front line concedes possession too easily at times, and do not press immediately after that. That is in stark contrast with a team like Barcelona, whose forwards press very high to win the ball back.

Barcelona have also been playing a 4-3-3 for more than a decade now, but their high-press allows them to retain the ball more frequently in the final third.

Quick Links

Edited by Sudeshna Banerjee
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
More
More
bell-icon Manage notifications