The Blues took on Thomas Frank’s Brentford side tonight looking to continue her good form wining four consecutive games only for the Bees to hold Chelsea to a stalemate.
Here are 4 lessons learned from the Brentford Community Stadium;
✓ Chalobah Proves Reliable :
With Thiago Silva rested after complaints of a tight hamstring, Trevoh Chalobah was given the opportunity to man the CCB position in Potter’s back three. Coming up against a tricky customer in Ivan Toney is not an easy task but it was one faced with Cobham graduate, Trevoh Chalobah who stuck to his task diligently to prevent the in-form striker from continuing his goal-scoring exploits after bagging 5 goals so far this season.
Chalobah playing right at the center of the back three had the duty of mopping up loose balls in the penalty area (5 clearances) and also stopping the aerial balls Brentford launched to point-man, Ivan Toney (50% aerial won). Trevoh also proved valuable in defending set-pieces which Brentford thrives heavily on with 4 headed clearances and also helped cover his shaky defensive partner, Kalidou Koulibaly on numerous occasions.
With the continued absence of Wesley Fofana due to injury, Chalobah will hope to keep up with his solid performances and maintain his high level as the games come thick and fast.
✓ Injury Woes May Derail Season :
Something of a Deja-Vu coming in off last season, the incessant injuries suffered by Chelsea is becoming too frequent to be only a coincidence.
With the season in its most demanding stage, it is highly worrisome for the Blues to have several key players out and the injury list keeps growing.
With Reece James and Fofana already both out for a few weeks coupled with Kante’s long-term injury, the visible addition of Conor Gallagher to that list is certain to have worried Graham Potter with Chelsea now set to play 2 games every week before the World Cup.
Important games against huge rivals and oppositions coming up in Manchester United, Arsenal and Salzburg in the next weeks, Potter will hope the remaining bulk of his team keeps fit and stay clear of injuries and suspensions so as to have a good pool of players to pick from for each game.
✓ Koulibaly Taking Time To Adapt :
A player many expected to take to the premier league like fish to water, it is something of a worry to see Kalidou Koulibaly struggling.
With exception to the Spurs game much earlier in the season, the former Napoli man has often been targeted as the weak-link in the Chelsea back line.
Here against Brentford, KK was caught napping on occasions and didn’t seem fully confident in his game as Frank Onyeka got the better of him on a few occasions down the Blues left.
Despite his height of over 6 feet, KK didn’t win any of his 2 aerial duels and also won 2 out of his ground duels. Having just one headed clearance and 2 interceptions also ranked poorly considering the huge reputation the Senegalese came with to Stamford Bridge.
Koulibaly has also seemed rash in his challenges at times and with Chelsea suffering with defensive cover, Potter will hope KK doesn’t get suspended anytime soon. The potential and ability is certainly there and Potter alongside Chelsea fans around the globe will be hoping to see KK hit the heights of his home debut against Spurs when Chelsea do battle against Manchester United in the next game.
✓ Kovaciç’s Back To Form :
After shaking off the early season injury struggles, Mateo Kovaciç looked the closest to his best as we’ve seen since the start of the season.
Coming on for Conor Gallagher after 15 minutes played, Kovaciç took up the position in the pivot alongside Jorginho.
The Croat did look to dictate Chelsea’s attacking play from deep however and his 4 chances created were the game’s highest for that metric.
Kovaciç had an all-round game as he’s come to be accustomed to since his second season at Chelsea with 3 of his 4 contested duels being a success while also recovering the ball 8 times.
His long ball accuracy of 60% also represented a major improvement when compared to his teammates. Kovaciç looked to play in Broja quickly a few times but the Albanian didn’t seem to have gotten in-tune with the speed at which the Croat sees the game just yet. If he does stay fit and healthy, it is no doubt that Kovaciç has the ability to a huge player for Chelsea football club.
Man of the Match; Kepa 8/10.
Next up for Chelsea is a BIG game against rivals Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Kick off 5:30pm UK time
