Good morning, Chelsea fans. Here is your morning digest for Monday, October 19.
Chelsea injury update ahead of Champions League
Chelsea begin their Champions League campaign on Tuesday night against Europa League winners Sevilla. And following the Blues' disappointing draw with Southampton, Frank Lampard will expect a response from his side.
The good news is the Chelsea boss should have a full attacking complement to choose from. Christian Pulisic made his first start of the season on Saturday and managed 87 minutes before being replaced by Reece James.
Hakim Ziyech, meanwhile, came on in the second half and got vital minutes under his belt as he recovers from the knee injury suffered against Brighton and Hove Albion in pre-season.
Timo Werner showed no signs of the illness he picked up during the international break, scoring his first goals for the club. And Ben Chilwell also played the full 90 minutes despite withdrawing from the England squad during the break.
Lampard has, however, issued an update on the fitness of Edouard Mendy.
“Mendy is, at the minute, injured and probably will be fit in the next week or two weeks, and then that will be the decision for me to make about who plays,” he said.
Shearer highlights key Chelsea weakness
It was another frustrating outing for Chelsea against Southampton, as they dropped two points despite holding 2-0 and 3-2 leads.
And Alan Shearer, speaking as a pundit on Match of the Day, highlighted one of the key issues that Lampard’s team suffered.
“Too many individual errors, once Southampton got the belief and started to press them a little bit higher,” he said.
“In the second half they (Southampton) get 10 yards further up the pitch, there's another error from Zouma, another one from the goalkeeper.
“Frank must have been a nervous wreck anytime the ball went anywhere near their defence because Southampton caused them all sorts of problems.
Leboeuf expresses Havertz concern
Kai Havertz arrived at Chelsea this summer in a blockbuster deal from Bayer Leverkusen.
The German international was heralded as one of the signings of the window, but he has yet to produce his best form at Stamford Bridge.
And former Blues defender Frank Leboeuf has expressed his concern regarding Havertz and the midfielder’s future prospects.
“I’m not convinced about Havertz, I’m not that optimistic. I’m very pleased with Werner, he’s a real satisfaction,” he told ESPN FC.
“Thiago Silva should have been back because it’s crucial for Chelsea to have a real leader at the back and that’s the main problem. They all have to work hard physically to make sure they can play together and be stronger together.
“I'm not convinced at all about Chelsea right now. It’s like they don’t know each other, they’re not fit enough, I’m very worried.
“I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt because I don’t know what they’re worth, but, really, if they keep on performing like that, for sure they’re not going to finish in the top four."
