Something becoming a regular tale of Chelsea’s season so far, once again, Chelsea lose a game of football, this time to Aston Villa.
Here are 3 takeaways from a toxic afternoon at the bridge.
Enzo’s waned influence as a result of loss of form or Poch’s mis-profiling?
Mis-profiling your best and most influential player is a really bad dent on any coach’s tactical nous and Pochettino now faces such accusation as to wether his tactics are spot on or dented with errors.
Enzo playing as the furthest of the three midfielders means he has little to no effect on the game as compared to when he plays deeper in the pivot with spaces limited higher up the pitch and his long range of passing much more suited in deeper zones.
Poch’s choice of Gallagher in the deeper role points towards the Argentine prioritising Gallagher’s work-rate and defensive contribution over Enzo’s creativity from deep midfield zones.
Robert Sanchez impresses, again :
A signing that had many Chelsea fans raising their eye-brows, Robert Sanchez has proven to be a solid signing in what has come as a positive surprise to many.
Joining off the back of a season that saw him lose his place at Brighton and become the third keeper, many questioned the choice to go for him but a recommendation from Goalkeeper coach Ben Roberts meant the Chelsea hierarchy deemed Sanchez fit to be Chelsea’s number 1 keeper this season.
Sanchez’s ball playing skills have been a huge weapon so far this season and helps the team progress the ball while his outstanding shot-stopping (6 saves today) has helped prevent the team from conceding further goals.
Time up for Jackson? :
Hold-up play, strength, work-rate and ruthless finishing are some of the traits a striker must possess in order to flourish and Nicolas Jackson seems to be really good at all but the most crucial; ruthless finishing.
A decent outlet no doubt but it is increasingly becoming evident that Nicholas Jackson isn’t the man to provide Chelsea with goals as his finishing and decision making in and around the box is a touch too lackluster.
One goal in 6 games (Luton at home) is not too bad a return for a striker who just joined the league but watching Jackson closely and the sort of misses he’s had, it is increasingly unlikely that his goal-scoring gets better with time.
Poor ball striking, bad decisions in front of goal and an average positional sense all points to the fact that Chelsea just might be needing a proven goal-scorer which is clearly missing from the present crop.
Jackson’s ill-discipline is another factor to look out for as the striker has now picked up his 5th yellow card of the season after just 6 games despite all of Pochettino’s warnings and is now set to miss the game against Fulham next weekend due to suspension.
After spending over a billion pounds on transfers in the past 2 summer windows, it would be a disaster for Chelsea if their goal-scoring problem forces the club into spending big on another centre forward.
Although, a saving grace might turn out to be the return of Armando Broja.
The Cobham graduate has a skill set much more suited to the premier league and has a higher potential to become a success as a premier league centre forward.
The alarm bells are beginning to go off slightly and results like this would only increase the alacrity at which such bells ring before becoming deafening.
Man of the match – Robert Sanchez; 8/10.
Next up for Chelsea is a Carabão tie against Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday.
