Trevoh Chalobah is the latest Chelsea player to make an early leave due to injury this season. Several Chelsea fans are unmoved by this news due to the “squad depth” of the squad.
Whilst they wish the 20-year-old a speedy recovery, the general thought is that we have enough players in our squad to cover up the cracks of those injured.
This may not actually be the case.
Now we know how Liverpool fans felt during their title defence in the 2020/21 season.
Chelsea faced Watford in what was a difficult watch for the fans. Intense pressing from Watford led to mistakes - mistakes that may never have been made if the squad had fully fit players.
Ben Chilwell, oh how we miss you. The left back’s injury has taken a toll on Chelsea’s left flank, just two matches into his 6 week recovery period. Whilst Marcos Alonso has had an impressive start to his season, the cracks that we all knew were there are rising again.
It was easy for the Hornets to get in behind Chelsea via Alonso’s route, knowing that there was room for error. Not the quickest in recovery, the Spaniard struggled to keep up with the pace of the duo, Emmanuel Dennis and Kiko Femenia.
To be fair, this was to be expected. Alonso is great in front of goal and taking set-pieces but his recovery pace has always been an issue that Chelsea fans had uncovered back in 2017. Whilst the January transfer window looms close, the Chelsea board could look closely into recalling Ian Maatsen from Coventry City. If not, this could be a serious concern for Chelsea’s title run, but not the only concern.
Thomas Tuchel chose an unfamiliar midfield pivot which left the fan base uneasy for the entire first half. Ruben Loftus Cheek and Saul Niguez were tasked with holding down the fort and rival fans across the board finally realised how important Jorginho is to the team.
Both players share different qualities to Jorginho skill set. Where the Italian is calm, press resistant, and makes conscious decisions in his passing, Saul was the complete opposite. Consistent in losing the ball, rash decision making caused him to receive a caution after just 16 minutes. The frustration was clear, not just from the fans and the player but from the boss himself.
Thomas Tuchel made the executive decision to sub off Saul yet again at halftime and this time replace him with Thiago Silva.
Ouch!
Jorginho was on the bench however, a rest was warranted for the Italian. Chelsea’s go-to midfielders in Kante and Kovacic are both out with injury hence the decision to have an unorthodox midfield. Despite being at fault for Watford’s only goal, Loftus-Cheek remained on the pitch for the entire 90 minutes.
Safe to say that many of us do not want to see that partnership again. Could it be time for Saul Niguez to return to Atletico in January? It is clear that the Spaniard is unable to match the intensity of Premier League football and did not expect to remain on the bench for the duration of his loan.
Reece James was also out after taking a knock against Manchester United over the weekend. Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta took his place however the lack of recent game time had shone through his performance. He was not at his best, however, he was also not at his worst. Sometimes having that fight in you is all it takes to make a contribution to a match.
It’s ironic to think that our defensive injuries may be the reason why Chelsea does not win the title. It’s obvious that there is more room for error in the backline now. However, Edouard Mendy has the capability of being our saving grace - just as he was against the Hornets and against Brentford earlier this season.
The problem might be their additional contribution in front of the goal. The Blues have relied heavily on the defence to bail them out of games just like this one. Now that James and Chilwell are out of the equation, the struggle continues.
There is still a positive to take from this, however. Yesterday was the first time in a long time where only our forwards scored. Mason Mount and Hakim Ziyech showed us their quality in dire moments to take the three points home for Chelsea.
The defence has had to drag the team on their backs for the first part of the season, it’s time for the attack to repay their dues. They now have the fittest attack that they’ve had since the start of the season. No excuses now. This could save our season.
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