Chelsea Lose 4-0 At Old Trafford

Until Sunday’s match Chelsea’s season has been filled with uncertainty. Manager, Frank Lampard had never managed in the top flight and his only managerial experience came last season with Derby County, down in the championship. Out of Chelsea’s three centre-forwards (Giroud, Abraham and Batshuayi), none would remotely frighten opposition defences. The rest of Chelsea’s squad reads as a who’s who of loanees who Chelsea were forced recall due to the transfer ban. As a whole, Chelsea have been torn apart by the transfer ban and are left with a team lacking individual experience and quality.

Last Sunday, Chelsea lost their first game of the season 4-0 away at Old Trafford to Manchester United. Chelsea controlled large spells of the first half, dominating the possession and chances. This lead to several pundits and Lampard himself saying that “the [fulltime] result was not reflective of our [Chelsea's] performance,” however, knowing the state of Chelsea’s team sheet, I disagree. This is best exemplified by Kurt Zouma. Zouma made 2 key errors early in the first half. The first was a greatly misplaced and mistimed pass directly in front of his own goal, which with better finishing should have been ended in a United goal. The second was a clumsy challenge on United's Marcus Rashford in the box, resulting in a penalty and United's first goal. Had Zouma been replaced by a more competent defender these key errors would be avoided. Additionally, Chelsea out-shot United 18-11, yet were still unable to hit the back of the net, while United scored 4. This shows a clear lack of clinical finishing in the final third from Chelsea, especially from their ineffective strikers. Luck might not have been on Chelsea’s side (displayed as they hit the woodwork twice). However, their personnel shortcomings combined with an inexperienced manager (who was unable to impact the game using tactics and/or substitutes), is not a recipe for success. Especially, when facing a ‘top 6’ club like Manchester United, a heavy defeat is reflective of this Chelsea team’s lack of quality and experience.

Quote Of The Week

"What a s*** game to start with!"

- A refreshingly honest Sebastian Haller on losing his first game with West Ham United 5-0, after moving for a club record £36 million