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Chelsea are unrecognisable from 12 months in the past. This time final yr they have been owned by a Russian oligarch, had a supervisor whose charisma had supporters hanging off his each phrase, and had simply change into champions of the world.
Even trying on the group that began towards Palmeiras within the closing of the Membership World Cup looks like getting into one other age. Callum Hudson-Odoi, who obtained an help that evening, was at left wing-back and Romelu Lukaku led the assault. Antonio Rüdiger and Andreas Christensen have been in central defence. Malang Sarr and Saúl Ñíguez got here off the bench.
It was a distinct sort of membership. Chelsea have been nailed on to complete within the prime 4 of the Premier League, hopeful of beating Liverpool within the Carabao Cup closing and assured of one other robust run within the Champions League. Issues felt surmountable. Again then the drama was Lukaku – the £97.5m closing piece within the jigsaw – managing seven touches when Chelsea beat Crystal Palace per week after their overcome Palmeiras.
How issues have modified. From the group that confronted Palmeiras, solely two began when Chelsea drew at West Ham final Saturday: Kai Havertz and Thiago Silva. Others have both gone, fallen prey to harm or, within the case of Mason Mount, been dropped.
It makes Chelsea, who go to Borussia Dortmund within the final 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday evening, one thing of an enigma in the meanwhile. Sanctions pressured Roman Abramovich to promote to Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, who rapidly changed Thomas Tuchel with Graham Potter.
The house owners fancied a calmer presence within the dugout. On Saturday, after Chelsea noticed appeals for a late penalty towards West Ham waved away, there was no fury with the officers. “That’s life,” Potter mentioned, shrugging it off and shifting on.
Chelsea’s head coach wouldn’t erupt. That was left to the tv pundits who puzzled whether or not such a measured response was proof that Potter is just not minimize out for elite administration. In the true world, in the meantime, there was a level of gratitude at a supervisor refusing to push the blame for a disappointing consequence on to a referee.
The opposite aspect to the argument is that the pundits who criticised Potter performed for prime managers. Think about how earlier Chelsea coaches would have responded. Tuchel, Antonio Conte and José Mourinho would have managed the narrative and tried to make their gamers really feel a burning sense of injustice. That’s merely the way it goes with the perfect coaches; their behaviour won’t all the time be significantly mature, however the factor about winners is that they aren’t wired like the remainder of us.
Potter, in contrast, appears extra regular. He has joined from Brighton & Hove Albion. It’s fairly the gear change from Chelsea. Up to now Chelsea have been pugnacious, combative and defiant. Now they appear flat.
Chelsea are tenth within the league earlier than the primary leg of their tie with Edin Terzic’s more and more assured Dortmund. The squad is a jumble. The house owners have overseen a spend of greater than £500m and, for all the joy over eight gamers becoming a member of in January, there are a whole lot of egos to placate.
When Chelsea handed their revised squad record to Uefa for the knockout phases of the Champions League there was no room for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Solely three of the brand new gamers might be registered, so there was no place for Benoît Badiashile, who has fashioned a wonderful partnership in central defence with Silva.
Dortmund, whose largest menace will come from Jude Bellingham, might be glad to see Badiashile lacking. Taking the Frenchman’s place might be Kalidou Koulibaly, who has not been trusted to start out since Chelsea’s defeat by Fulham on 12 January.
That makes Chelsea weaker, probably forcing Potter to modify to a again three. Mateo Kovacic and Denis Zakaria are again, Raheem Sterling is absent once more, and extra chopping and altering is inevitable. As soon as once more, even with Enzo Fernández trying easy in midfield and João Félix dazzling up entrance, the query is whether or not Chelsea can develop a constant rhythm.
Coherence eluded them towards West Ham and the flux has been summed up by the odd vibes between Marc Cucurella and Mykhaylo Mudryk. Cucurella, who has struggled at left-back since his £62m transfer from Brighton, heard the followers cheering his substitution towards West Ham. There was no signal of any understanding on Chelsea’s left flank. Repeatedly Mudryk would make a run behind the West Ham defence and search for the ball, just for Cucurella to disregard the winger, test again and play a protected cross inside.
Mudryk, signed final month for £88.8m, was pissed off with the dearth of service. The Ukrainian later appreciated – then unliked – an Instagram put up mocking Cucurella. It’s a potential headache for Potter as he continues his affected person rebuild.
The previous Brighton supervisor would certainly favor to deal with Chelsea’s shiny soccer through the opening 20 minutes towards West Ham. The aim, made by Fernández and scored by Félix, noticed two of the brand new gamers mix. The lavish spending might but elevate Chelsea. Cash alone means they’re favourites to beat Dortmund and it shouldn’t be forgotten that Chelsea’s two Champions League triumphs, in 2012 and 2021, got here throughout disappointing league seasons.
Whether or not that defiance belongs to a forgotten period stays to be seen.
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