5 areas Chelsea must improve on this season

Chelsea have made a mixed start to the season so far under the returning Jose Mourinho. Despite that, the club find themselves currently in third place and will most certainly look to improve on their recent performances in order to stand a chance at ending this season with some silverware.

Let’s take a look at 5 areas Chelsea need to improve upon as the season wears on:

1) Converting their chances – Chelsea manage to create several chances throughout almost every game. Despite that, they aren’t winning too many games by a convincing margin. The fact that plenty of chances are created yet very few (sometimes none) are taken is a cause for concern and needs to be remedied immediately. And it’s not just the strikers who miss chances either. Most title-winning teams look to convert even half-chances yet Chelsea aren’t able to convert even the simpler ones. At the moment it is one of the biggest causes of concern for Chelsea players and Jose Mourinho.

2) Avoiding basic defensive errors – It’s rare to see a Jose Mourinho side that aren’t extremely hard to break down defensively. Yet this current Chelsea side is one of the most porous sides that he has ever managed. This isn’t down to him as such, there is only so much he can do. However, basic errors (such as failing to mark a man or not closing down attackers quickly enough) are turning out to be a massive issue for the Blues at the moment and Mourinho needs to figure out the root of the problem and deal with it.

3) Midfield needs to do more – Chelsea’s current central midfield is weak; there really is no other way to put it. Therefore it’s no surprise that the midfield aren’t able to effectively contribute in both defence and attack like they should be. This is a problem as a strong midfield is what distinguishes good sides from great sides. This isn’t a problem that can be solved at the moment because they need reinforcements in that particular area. This aspect of their play can only improve once the Janaury transfer window opens, giving them a chance to add a quality midfielder to their ranks.

4) Selecting their best XI – The solution to this problem lies solely in Mourinho’s hands. Some of his team selections have been slightly bizarre, from constantly dropping Juan Mata and Jon Obi Mikel to deploying Chelsea’s best right-back Cesar Azpilicueta and left-back and using the rather ineffective Branislav Ivanovic at right-back. Mourinho needs to sort out his team selection and figure out what his strongest XI is yet also rotate whenever necessary in order to keep his players fresh and ensure everyone gets game-time. It’s a strenuous job but it is by no means impossible.

5) Maintaining consistency – The hallmark of a trophy-winning club is that they can consistently put in one good performance after another, only slipping up on occasion. So far this season, Chelsea have blown hot and cold. In certain matches the team have put in excellent performances whereas in others they have looked nothing short of shambolic. A consistency in style of play and performances must be established as soon as possible so as to boost chances of ending the season with silverware.