Coming off a midweek defeat at the hands of Real Madrid, Chelsea hosted in-form Brighton & Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge with the hope of gaining some momentum heading into the most crucial game of the season in the return leg at home against Real Madrid.
That, as predicted, did not happen, and instead Chelsea fell short once again in a 2-1 defeat.
Here are three things we can highlight from today’s match..
Disjointed team on display :
Lining up in his usual 4-3-3 system, Frank Lampard made wholesome changes to the starting XI that lined up against Madrid in midweek as only 4 players retained their spots from that game (Kepa, Fofana, Sterling and Enzo).
Due to that many changes and an absence of ample time on the training ground, the starting team looked disjointed right from the onset as players were seen arguing about their positions, movement and a visible lack of well-planned out tactics.
From the inability to build-up from the defence to lumping hopeful balls over the top looking for the attackers (Sterling, Pulisic and Mudryk) against much favoured taller defenders in Webster and Dunk all showed shades of a confused bunch lining up at the Bridge.
The lack of connection amidst Chelsea attackers when compared to Brighton’s showing on the day was a comparison of daylight to absolute night-darkness.
The game did take a more balanced affair after the introduction of more established stars in the second half but little to nothing changed up too in attack for Chelsea.
Mudryk’s home audition begs for more inclusion :
His first start for Frank Lampard since the Chelsea legend returned to the reins at the Bridge saw talented winger, Mykhailo Mudryk record his best game yet for the Blues.
Starting as the left winger in Frank’s 4-3-3 system, Mudryk’s pace and directness caused all sorts of problems for Brighton’s defence and forced Veltman to pick up an early caution before the Dutch international went off injured.
His positive attitude when on the ball posed a constant danger to Brighton and his layoff for a deflected Gallagher strike saw him record his second assist this season. With Madrid to come on Tuesday and a loss of form to the present attacking options, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Mudryk started as he has a bit of recent history against the reigning UCL winners.
Defensive frailties, Lampard’s fault or not?
A defence that has already seen a major revamp in the recent two windows, it is now a subject of huge concern how easily opponents get to create chances against Chelsea.
Playing through the Blues’ press is done without much difficulty at present with the spaces behind the backline getting exploited with each passing game. Despite a poor time under Graham Potter, Chelsea were ranked one of the best sides defensively as they only conceded the third least goals in the league until his departure.
Since Lampard’s return, Chelsea have conceded 5 goals in 3 matches and scored only 1 with opponents often creating plenty of chances to put Chelsea to the sword but a combination of Kepa and wasteful finishes have been sparring blushes.
Here at the Bridge, Brighton created loads of chances and had a total of 26 shots with 10 on target and mustered 5 big chances. If there’s to be any chance of qualification for Chelsea come Tuesday, Lampard has to sort out the team’s defensive structure.
Man of the match : Mudryk- 7/10.
Next up for Chelsea is the return leg of the UCL quarter-final tie against Madrid on Tuesday.
