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The knockout stages of the Champions League are still a long way off, with the first leg matches scheduled for late February, but Atlético de Madrid will surely have taken note of how their future rival Chelsea was defeated by Arsenal on Saturday.
The Blues showed up at the Emirates Stadium to take on an unmanned Arsenal struggling to lose, but Mikel Arteta’s side sent Chelsea home defeated with an unexpected 3-1 victory.
Arteta outplayed Frank Lampard and in doing so may have shown Diego Simeone the way.
It’s a boost for Atleti that Chelsea have been struggling in the big games, scoring just two points from their encounters with Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and Arsenal.
Lampard lined up more or less his first-choice XI at Emirates, with only Hakim Ziyech missing, while Jorginho started on the bench in a tactical decision.
Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy cannot be held responsible for the loss, despite the fact that he gave Lacazette a chance to make it 4-0 and went too early for the penalty that opened the scoring.
Chelsea’s defense was poor overall, with Thiago Silva’s age and Reece James inexperience showing, while left-back Ben Chilwell is not in good shape at the moment.
In the midfield, N’Golo Kante has to work too much alone, covering others and doing his own work, and therefore he is getting tired early.
The attackers also did not escape criticism, with Mateo Kovacic, positionally poor and struggling to get involved, hooked at halftime, and Timo Werner and Kai Havertz also questioned by the press.
However, it wasn’t all bad for Chelsea, with Mason Mount impressing alongside Christian Pulisic, and the pair seemed the most likely to make things happen for the visiting team.
Add Callum Hudson-Odoi to that list. The 20-year-old replaced Werner at halftime and assisted Tammy Abraham’s goal.
A lot can change in two months, but there are signs that Simeone’s men have reason to trust Chelsea.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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