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While Chelsea were far better against Aston Villa than in their weak 3-1 loss to Arsenal, the football world is still waiting for Frank Lampard’s team to be back in top form.
Monday’s 1-1 draw was not the result Chelsea wanted, or needed, to get their season back on track. Instead, things are caught in a vicious cycle of wondering if Lampard knows his best XI or, equally urgently, whether or not he knows how to get the best out of them. They responded to his premature rallying cry to improve their intensity, but the match record has yet to fall in their favor, with only one win in their last six games (all competitions) to prove it.
– Report: Chelsea endured Villa’s 1-1 draw
Chelsea spent a lot in the summer to build on last season’s promise and fight for the title; Heading into the new year, that £ 220 million figure is now an albatross around Lampard’s neck. This is not to do Aston Villa any disservice – they are a brilliantly organized team and make good use of their remarkable work pace at Stamford Bridge, but Chelsea needed to win this home game after three defeats out of four, and finally they fell short. .
“When you are in a difficult moment, things do not go well for you, you have to fight,” Lampard said after the game.
This was Chelsea’s second game in 48 hours; The holiday schedule is blunt and unforgiving, and as it unfolds in the context of the logistics and stress of COVID-19, you can forgive the players for the days off. But Aston Villa is enduring the same circumstances and while Chelsea made six changes since the Boxing Day loss at Arsenal, Villa made only one change due to suspension.
You could see two different approaches in play on Monday night: Dean Smith, doing a brilliant job at Villa, is content to meet his best team and stay with them, support them to play through fatigue and deliver. Lampard’s team is a bigger beast with many more options, but it lacks consistency. “Mindset” was the buzzword after the game, but that won’t win you titles alone. And so it was the tried and tested old man that gave Chelsea the point.
Take the ever-reliable Olivier Giroud, who returned to play for Chelsea in a time of need. His clever header gave Chelsea the lead in the first half, with Ben Chilwell superb and wingers Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi cheering. Pulisic had two good chances in the first half, while Timo Werner, fell to the bench, shot over the bar at the end, and Chilwell threw a beautiful last-call volley just above the far post of Emiliano Martínez, but the Frenchman is its dominant presence in the middle of the field.
Chelsea lack dynamism from midfield, and herein lies Lampard’s conundrum: They have envious depth and have spent a lot to give themselves the talent to compete in multiple competitions, but they still seem to need a presence like West Ham’s Declan Rice in the game. midfield to really anchor things and give security in the middle of the park. Rice is on their radar, but John McGinn, Aston Villa’s outstanding midfielder, gave them a close look at what they are missing.
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Julien Laurens feels that Timo Werner’s performance at the weekend was one of the worst he has seen this season.
Lampard and Chelsea had every intention of turning this campaign into a title challenge. But when form plummets, they seem a far cry from their best in November, when they had six straight wins in the Premier League and Champions League, the pressure and noise builds across the team, and the excluded players seem even more. evident in their absence.
Both Kai Havertz and Timo Werner were on the bench after a loss to Arsenal, and neither made the necessary impact with 20 minutes to go. Individual quality is not enough for Chelsea at the moment as they struggle to create clear chances. Tammy Abraham and Giroud are playing well and their overlapping defenses take a lot of crosses in the box, but are either attacked at the near post and cleared or forced back to midfield, so Chelsea have to build again. How should they expect Hakim Ziyech to return sooner rather than later; Until then, we are still waiting for this Chelsea to be defined.
What is Chelsea right now? They are well organized in the back, although Andreas Christensen seemed unstable; solid but unspectacular in midfield; and then like a spring permanently coiled to the front with that shame of riches, but they lack overall cohesion. Havertz, arguably one of the best young players in the world, has only one goal and one assist to his name this season. Werner last scored in early November and is now zero at 11 for Chelsea. Lampard needs to bring out the best in these two.
While you feel like Chelsea is accelerating her identity, Villa wears hers proudly on his chest. They are well organized, they work incredibly hard, they push well and they have flashes of brilliance. Anwar El Ghazi’s fifth goal in five games was just the reward for an all-round good performance, while Jack Grealish offers the style to match McGinn’s industry. McGinn was omnipresent, rocking Chelsea’s crossbar with a howitzer shot, earning a goal after a sensational performance. They still need to get better serve from Ollie Watkins up front and that could come when Ross Barkley returns, but Smith judged Monday’s game perfectly.
Smith said that before and after the game he has never seen a player “wear himself out,” but what Villa is thriving on right now is the collective trust in others. “If they’re doing well, I’ll keep playing with them,” was Smith’s opinion after the game. Compare that to Lampard and that’s the problem at Chelsea – some have risen, like Chilwell and Pulisic, but he needs more from the collective set, not just a handful of individuals.
Until Lampard realizes this, Giroud simply cannot be allowed to leave. He was outstanding in last season’s shoot, with six goals in the last nine league games, and he’s sure to have a big role to play for Chelsea this season, but Lampard needs this impressive team to sing along. Next up is Manchester City, if the game goes ahead.
While Chelsea was better than their loss at Arsenal, we are still waiting for them to respond. You feel like the two types of players that you need right now stood out: Lampard and John Terry. Now it’s up to Lampard to get this sizable ship back on course and heading in a winning direction.
