In Enzo Maresca’s first five away games as Chelsea head coach, the Blues were victorious on three occasions. Their only defeat came at Premier League leaders Liverpool, while they were held to a draw at Old Trafford against Manchester United.
After that, three straight victories followed on the road against Leicester City, Southampton and Tottenham. The Spurs win, where the Blues came back to edge a seven-goal thriller in north London, was the last victory away from home in the league for Chelsea. That came way back on December 8.
Their away form since has been woeful. Draws against Everton and Crystal Palace, as well as defeats to Ipswich Town, Manchester City and Brighton, make up a disastrous five-game run on the road.
While their defence have shipped nine goals in their last five away games, their attacking performance has been even more concerning. The Blues have scored just two goals in their last 450-plus minutes on the road – and in that time, they have recorded 65 shots, with only 15 of them on target.
The Brighton defeat on Friday night was the worst of the lot. Just eight shots from the visitors at the Amex Stadium and not a single one of them tested Seagulls goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen – his only real save to block what would have been an own goal late on. The Dutchman could hardly believe his luck given Chelsea played with over £178million worth of talent in their attack, and that’s without the £25million the club will pay for Jadon Sancho in the summer.
It does not get any easier for Chelsea on the road either. Next up is a trip to the Midlands to take on Aston Villa next weekend. Then there are two home games against Southampton and Leicester City, before a trip to title-chasing Arsenal on March 16. The Blues’ following away games after that see trips to Brentford, Fulham, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest.
Plenty can be said about what exactly is going wrong for Chelsea at the moment, as the pressure grows on Maresca as head coach. However, the Italian believes the reason why his players were outclassed on Friday was due to a lack of desire shown down on the south coast.
Speaking to reporters in his post-match press conference, Maresca explained: “I think in the moment that we are, 14 games to go before tonight’s game, fourth in the league and winning you can go one point from third and the gap bigger between the rest. You come here and play in the way we played, not on the ball but in terms of it is a moment that in terms of desire we need to show more.”
He later added: “The reaction is that I think it is everywhere the same in terms of when you win games, the fans are happy and when you don’t win games, the fans are upset. In this moment, they are completely right to be upset.
“In this moment of the season, with the chance we have of bringing this club to where it has to be. The desire we showed was not enough.”
- Source: NEWHD MEDIA
