OPINION: 3 Things Observed From Chelsea’s Premier League Season So Far
3 min read
The 2022–2023 Premier League season has not been an easy one for Chelsea to navigate. Thomas Tuchel was relieved of his duties and replaced by Graham Potter in September after the team suffered a streak of defeats in a row.
Graham Potter got off to a fantastic start as the Blues’ new manager after Tuchel, leading the team to a nine-game unbeaten streak across all competitions after Tuchel’s departure. However, Potter is in a precarious position going into the World Cup break as a result of suffering four defeats in his last five games. These defeats include a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of his former employers as well as being eliminated from the EFL Cup by Manchester City.
The following are three facts that we have learned about Chelsea’s season up to this point.
1. An ineffective showing in terms of goal scoring.
The failure of the Chelsea team to score goals has been the downfall of their season. They have only scored 17 goals in 14 games, which is eight fewer goals than Leicester City, seven fewer goals than Fulham, and six fewer goals than Brighton has scored.
Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Potter has not been able to breathe new life into Aubameyang’s seasons, and the contributions of Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic, and Hakim Ziyech are still only making a marginal impact. It has also been difficult for central midfielders like Jorginho, Mateo Kovacic, and Ruben Loftus-Cheek to make significant contributions to the team’s goal scoring.
Given that Potter has received little help from the club that Tuchel has left behind, it should not come as a surprise that Chelsea could benefit from some additional attacking reinforcements in the month of January.
Datro David Fofana arrived in London this morning for Chelsea medical tests, which is great news
2. Continual shifts in perspective
It is true that injuries and poor play have plagued Potter during his brief time at Chelsea. This has made it difficult for him to perform consistently.
Due to injuries, he has been without key players Reece James, Wesley Fofana, N’Golo Kante, and Ben Chilwell for significant portions of games. This has left him short of players who are essential to his team’s success. While Chelsea’s defense keeps giving up goals in every game, the offense hasn’t been very reliable in terms of putting points on the board.
Because of this, Potter has not been able to settle on a consistent game plan or formation for his team since he took over as head coach in September. As a result, he has been constantly tinkering with his team. Concerns have been raised as a result of this regarding the possibility of players forming relationships with one another on the pitch.
After the break for the World Cup, Potter needs to devise a specific “Plan A” in order to stop Chelsea from experiencing the same problems that have been bothering them.
3. Graham Potter is in for a difficult assignment in the near future.
Graham Potter may think that it is crazy to suppose that there is already pressure on him at Chelsea, but the Pensioners had a five-game losing streak heading into the break for the World Cup, and they were in last place.
If Chelsea fails to finish in the top four, Boehly fail- Gallas
After suffering three consecutive defeats in the Premier League, Potter’s squad has fallen all the way down to ninth place in the table of standings. The manager of Chelsea will have a lot to mull over during the break due to the fact that Liverpool is playing exceptionally well, that Manchester United is enjoying a fantastic first season under Erik ten Hag, and that Newcastle United is having an incredible campaign.
Even with the recent praise that Potter has gotten, he will have to come to terms with the fact that managing Chelsea is quite different from managing Brighton and that the challenge he faces at Stamford Bridge is huge.
