Chelsea might have a different manager in the dugout but it does not look like much has changed for this team. Against a depleted Nottingham Forest team, they were completely outplayed and soundly defeated. 3-1 at Stamford Bridge. What was once a fortress has now become every visiting team’s favourite ground.
In the process, Chelsea made some unwanted history as well. They have lost six games in a row in the league for the first time since 1993.
At least Joao Pedro scored a brilliant consolation goal deep into the game. Otherwise, this would have been the first time in history that they lost six league games in a row without scoring a single goal.
Here are three things we learned from this Chelsea defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest. But are the people who most need to learn from these results doing so?
There needs to be a conversation about Cole Palmer
Cole Palmer’s drop in form is not a narrative as some would like to believe. He most certainly has been struggling for quite some time now.
Injuries might have a lot to do with that. Perhaps it is a lack of confidence as well. He missed from the spot today. He never did that in the first 18 months of his time at Stamford Bridge.
Maybe it is just the constant football that he has had to play, when not injured, since joining Chelsea. We have seen plenty of quality talents look like shells of their bet selves lately. Phil Foden. Bukayo Saka. Palmer is not the only one.
But the club need to make a decision. If he needs time out to be back to his best, this is the correct time to give that to him. There is nothing left to play for this season. If he needs surgery, that needs to be a consideration as well. But whatever they are doing right now is doing no good, either for the team or for the player.
Joao Pedro the only bright light
Pedro scored a brilliant goal that deserved to be a game-winner not a consolation strike. And he also saw one ruled out by VAR.
He looks like the only bright light for Chelsea at the moment. And one would hope that he continues this run of form until the end of the season.
The Champions League spots are gone for good. But at least there is the FA Cup final to play for. And if Chelsea are to have any chance against Man City, we need Pedro at his very best on the day.
On this note, Jesse Derry was doing well on his debut before his unfortunate injury. We would like to wish him a speedy and complete recovery.
BlueCo’s Chelsea
Here we are, four years into the BlueCo project, reaching historic lows every week. If BlueCo still don’t realise that they have gotten this absolutely wrong then they never will.
This is the worst version of Chelsea I have ever seen personally. Even the Graham Potter era looks good in comparison. Who would have thought?
There have been talks of BlueCo ‘tweaking’ their strategy in the summer. You tweak things that are just some adjustments away from working. What Chelsea need is a complete revamp.
