Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Portsmouth on Wednesday meant they ended a four-match winless streak, effectively averting a mini-crisis.
But Wednesday’s victory over Pompey shouldn’t allow us to gloss over Chelsea failings and the fact that they could only narrowly defeat the Premier League’s bottom club must be acknowledged.
Prior to the Portsmouth win, Chelsea had drawn 3-3 with Everton, tied 2-2 with APOEL, lost 2-1 at Manchester City and lost on penalties in the Carling Cup after a 3-3 draw with Blackburn.
So the question must be, what has happened to Chelsea in the last few matches?
An obvious glaring stat there alone is the number of goals they’ve conceded recently and the side’s woes from set-pieces has been noted, with Petr Cech clearly susceptible.
Everton took full advantage of this chink in Chelsea’s armour, when they scored three times at Stamford Bridge from dead-ball situations.
To think the Blues had conceded just once at home during the league season until then reiterates the point Everton found a weakness.
Cech said after the Everton game, “We were very unlucky not to win because we played well, we controlled the game, we scored three brilliant goals and we were really unlucky to concede goals. So this is one of those days."
But Chelsea mustn’t ignore their obvious flaws considering the amount of uncertainty and panic which seemed to appear amongst their players every time their opponents had a set-piece.
Perhaps the Chelsea defence are losing confidence in Cech, who hasn’t been at his best since his horrific head injury sustained against Reading a few seasons ago.
Cech added, "I think it has been a long time since we conceded goals from set plays. Against Arsenal, and Man City, and if you count all the other games before, there were so many set plays and we dealt with all these.
“We were really unlucky (against Everton) because the first goal deflected off the post, goes back to me and it goes in. You know, this is something you can't control. This is something that can always happen.
"The second goal, we had three chances to clear it. And Didier's clearance is not an own goal, but what is the chance it hits the opponent standing a few yards in front of you and then goes over the goalkeeper and the defenders standing on the line? This is unlucky.
Beyond the set-piece blues, there is also the absence of Michael Essien in midfield which has hurt Chelsea. After scoring against APOEL, Essien picked up a hamstring injury which will see him out for some time.
In fact, Chelsea fans won’t see Essien in a blue shirt until February with the African Cup of Nations coming up. The inspirational, Ghanaian ball-winner leaves a hole which Chelsea is struggling to fill. John Obi Mikel continues to fail to convince.
Make no mistake, Essien is a superstar who Chelsea will miss and while he’s absent, Manchester United could just have a chance to push for the title.
Also the Portsmouth match showed Chelsea’s unhealthy reliance on Ivory Coast star Didier Drogba. They did, after all, require a late penalty for their winner.
But Drogba has been in stunning form this season with plenty of goals and he offers more to Chelsea with his flexibility up front. Others, such as Salomon Kalou, simply aren’t as dynamic.
And with Drogba (as well as Kalou for good measure) heading to Africa in January, Chelsea have a few headaches ahead.
Still Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti remains confident and believes the Portsmouth win was what the Blues needed.
“We did a good job, not a beautiful job,” Ancelotti stated.
"I'm happy because it was becoming a difficult game after they'd equalised. We had 15 minutes in the second half which were no good. We lost our composure. But, then, we had a very good reaction. We changed something on the pitch, put fresh players on, and had a very good reaction until the end of the game.
"We deserved to win, but that was the most important thing after four games without a victory. The first aim was always to win. The players are not suffering from nerves, no. They are not nervous. In this case, we can do better.”
And now skipper John Terry is setting goals, revealing; "We're still on target for 90 points this season and we are the only club which is. Saturday was the first time we have dropped points at home this term and I want it to be the last.''
Terry and Ancelotti’s confidence seems to not have wavered, but some just aren’t so sure. It hasn’t been a convincing period for Chelsea.
The problems which have arisen must not be glossed over and it appears no solutions really have been found for the set-piece problems or with Drogba and Essien’s absence to come.
It is a concern which must give Manchester United fans hope because over the busy Christmas period we will learn who is in pole position as the NBA Jerseys title race hots up.
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