77% passing accuracy: Basel blues highlight Ramires’ lack of form

Chelsea, despite a disappointing 1-0 loss to Swiss giants Basel, have booked their place in the knock-out stages of the Champions League; however, the continued dip in form of their midfield general Ramires should worry both Jose Mourinho and Chelsea fans alike.

The 26-year-old Brazilian international is so often the lynch-pin of the Chelsea midfield, boasting all the qualities of the complete midfielder. However, Ramires’ sub-par performance last night encapsulated a recent lapse in the high standards we have come to expect since he joined the west-London side in 2010. Chelsea suffered against their Swiss counterparts once again, failing to record a single shot on target and managing a fairly mediocre pass completion rate of 77% ; the latter of which could suggest a poor midfield display by Ramires and his colleagues.

Ramires’ individual performance did indeed mirror that of the Chelsea team, with a general Squawka Performance Score of -29. Looking deeper into Ramires’ display highlights a number of disappointing aspects to the Brazilian’s play throughout the game, none so much as his 78% pass completion rate. The Brazilian has been a midfield metronome for the most part of this season, achieving average pass accuracies of 85/84% in the Premier League and Champions League respectively, accompanied by a combined total of 19 key passes and two assists for the benefit of his team-mates in both competitions. Chelsea’s overall team performance is therefore likely to suffer if a player as crucial as Ramires begins to lose his way, and this was the certainly the case in Basel on Tuesday night.

A solid midfield performance is essential to successful journeys away in Europe; a display of lacklustre passing in the middle of the field allows for the flourishing of opposition danger-men, evidenced in this case by the performance of goalscorer, Mohamed Salah. The tricky Egyptian was frequently allowed the freedom to operate in the space between Chelsea’s midfield and defence, achieving three shots on target on his way to an impressive Squawka Performance Scores of 51.

The above pass map shows a considerable number of Ramires’ forward passes going astray, partly giving reason to Chelsea’s lack of penetration on Tuesday night.

In addition to Ramires’ inability to maintain possession for his side, the Brazilian was also unsuccessful in his attempts to win both tackling and headed duels, achieving a 50% success rate in both. The combative nature of Ramires is perhaps lorded above his attacking influence on the game, therefore an elusive display on his part made for a relatively easy night for the midfield three of Basel, who rarely had to venture out of second-gear in order to outshine Ramires and his Chelsea counter-parts.

Upon comparison with players of a similar role to Ramires, there is an evident benchmark to which the Chelsea man must aspire to restore his performances. The in-form Aaron Ramsey posted a performance score of 36 during Arsenal’s impressive away win to Dortmund some weeks ago; the Welshman’s 89% pass completion rate coupled with scoring the winning goal marked a fantastic midfield display in Europe, to which he also added a 100% tackle success rate, helping to temporarily relieve the vast pressure his team endured in Germany. We know that Ramires is capable of similar heights when playing in Europe, as demonstrated by his away performances which propelled Chelsea to their Champions League title in the season of 2011/2012, most notably during the dismantling of the then-champions Barcelona.

Perhaps Ramires was simply the victim of the age-old mistake of underestimating his opponent on Tuesday night, evidenced by a performance of a similar calibre during Chelsea’s 0-3 win away to a faltering West Ham United, one which was of course masked by the simplicity of the task in-hand. However, complacency is something that Mourinho himself has publicly warned against; Ramires and his team-mates must find a degree of consistency, regardless of opposition, if they are to fulfil their hefty potential this term.