[ad_1]
The London blue loses the city classic to Arsenal and opens a season full of stars but with little use
Everything pointed to a victory for Chelsea in the classic against Arsenal. Even playing at home, the red team has not won a Premier League match since 1 November and came to a duel with coach Mikel Arteta on the line. Still, the Gunners won 3-1 and proved Frank Lampard’s job at the helm of Chelsea to be disappointing, even in a season of very high investment by the Blues.
Live football or whenever you want? Access DAZN and try it free for a month!
Chelsea’s 25 points after the end of the Boxing Day round represent the club’s second worst start to the season in the last 10 years. Only in 2015/16 did the London team get off to a worse start. Although last season the numbers are not so expressive (29 points after Boxing Day), you have to understand that the context is quite different.
In the previous season, the Blues were coming off a punishment that prohibited the club from hiring players through two transfer windows. With a squad full of youngsters and Lampard in his first year as the club’s manager, the team did well and at the end of the season managed to qualify for the Champions League, surprising many.
Now, however, without the hiring ban, Frank Lampard’s team is a real disappointment. Leader Liverpool is six points ahead of the Blues and still has one game down, so the gap could widen to nine points.
Kai Havertz, the most expensive of the reinforcements is perhaps the biggest disappointment (Photo: Getty Images)
The numbers Chelsea spent this season were astronomical in signings. 225 million pounds (about R $ 1.5 billion at the current price) were invested in the hiring of five players, in addition to Thiago Silva, who arrived for free, but with a high salary.
However, even with strong names and some promises on their team, the team does not seem to commit and deliver what is expected of them. Instead, Lampard has had to rely on less popular names like Thammy Abraham, Mason Mount, and veteran Olivier Giroud.
The attempt to create a market meltdown and alert European teams to Chelsea’s financial and potentially footballing power only worked until page two. The Blues enter the end of the year marathon with serious problems against the most important teams in England. Also, you see that several of these stars are not doing it on the field so far, especially youngsters Kai Havertz and Timo Werner.
Although the first place in the group stage of the Champions League came with some ease, in a group considered quiet, Lampard already sees his name being questioned as a coach and manager of a star team.
Chelsea’s management is known not to shy away from firing coaches, prestigious as they may be, so if Lampard wants to stay in the job he will need to improve his team’s performance, especially in matches against big rivals.
