Ruben Loftus-Cheek has called on Chelsea to take a note or two from Barcelona when faced with stubborn defensive sides in the Premier League.
The Blues played out a 0-0 draw against a rugged Southampton side as Ralph Hasenhuttl’s relegation battlers restricted their hosts to few clear cut chances while Premier League debutant Angus Gunn impressed in goal.
The result comes after N’Golo Kante stepped up with his third goal of the season at Crystal Palace to spare Chelsea’s blushes as they once again struggled to break their London rivals down.
And Loftus-Cheek has said Maurizio Sarri’s side need to work on playing a little more like Barcelona in training.
“Teams are coming here and sitting back and it's difficult to break them down, because it's so tight,” the England midfielder told Chelsea TV.
“We need to get on the training pitch and work on trying to get balls in behind and work on playing against a deep back four.
“We need those clever movements in behind, even though they are deep. One of those diagonal balls over the top, like you see Barcelona do a lot.
“We need to work on that. It's about having patience as well, because it's so frustrating at times. You can't get that space to open them up.
“I think we need to get used to it, because we're playing well at times, so teams are going to come here and do that - and away as well.”
Chelsea may have to employ such a style when they host Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup on Saturday, though they can expect a little more freedom when visiting Tottenham for the first leg of their League Cup semi-final on Tuesday.
