BLUES MUST STOP BALL-WATCHING!
Chelsea defence is costing them dear
CHELSEA have the potential t o be mesmerising at the top of the pitch. Thei r third goal against Southampton was magnificent, as Timo Werner and Mason Mount exchanged a onetwo and Kai Havertz scored. With Christian Pulisic fit again, and Hakim Ziyech ready to play, the pieces of the puzzle are all there — Frank Lampard just has to put them together.
But Chelsea’s manager has work to do with his defence first. Last weekend’s 3-3 draw at Stamford Bridge took them to 63 goals conceded in 43 Premier League games under Lampard (below).
What has stood out is the mannequin- l i ke ballwatching from Chelsea’s defenders. They stand around admiring the pretty football being played in front of them rather than preparing for when they lose possession.
They’ve had the cigars out, and that mentality has to change.
Lampard’s message must be: ‘ Get into position early and expect the f o r ward players wi l l lose possession.’ Ralph Hasenhuttl’s Southampton are one of the best sides at pressing. They like to win the ball back and pounce — and that was how they got their first goal. Andreas Christensen left the back line to press a throw-in and Havertz picked up possession. Yet instead of racing back to rejoin Kurt Zouma — or noticing Danny Ings over his shoulder — Christensen started walking. When Havertz lost the ball, Chelsea’s players practically stood there with their arms folded. By the time Christensen was even on the edge of his box, Ings was going around Kepa Arrizabalaga to score. For Southampton’s second goal, Zouma messed up a back pass, but the positioning of Chelsea’s defence was all wrong again. Zouma was i solated, and Christensen watched when he should have been anticipating the worstcase scenario. Errors were made, and Southampton equalised. As a defender, you have to be on red alert at all times. At Arsenal, I was lucky enough to work under Don Howe. Don was t he governor of defending and taught us: ‘If you work early, you work l ess.’ Where’s the ball? Where’s my opponent? Where’s our defensive line?
You have to assess, shuffle across, drop off — and it is imperative you do so before your team lose the ball. If you don’t bother getting into position, then the opposition can and will hurt you at this level.
That’s what Chelsea’s defenders need to learn. It is about knowledge, awareness and not being naive. Ings knew what he was doing, drifting between Christensen and Zouma, because he was expecting his Southampton team-mates to win the ball.
Lampard hopes Thiago Silva’s experience will help, but at 36 years old it remains to be seen if he can cope with playing every week. Chelsea’s forwards will get most of the credit when they win. Defenders only hit the headlines when they’ve had a nightmare! But you have to take pride in securing that clean sheet.
Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp used to do marvellous things up front for Arsenal. But our back line wasn’t made up of spectators — we did our jobs too.
Chelsea’s players need to wake up and stop sleeping at the back. Do that and this team, with Werner central and the array of attacking t al ent around him, can be seriously competitive.