Calum McFarlane was not working with a lot coming into the game against Liverpool. Firstly, Chelsea are on a six-game losing streak in the Premier League. On top of that, they have been left severely short in the forward areas thanks to a whole host of wingers being injured.
Alejandro Garnacho and Pedro Neto picked up knocks in training. Estevao and Jamie Gittens are not expected to play again this season. And Jesse Derry’s name was added to that list after his head injury against Nottingham Forest.
That makes it even tougher for a Chelsea team that has scored just one goal in their last six outings in the Premier League, that too a bicycle kick from Joao Pedro.
Chelsea fans unhappy with one player being dropped vs Liverpool
McFarlane named an expectedly defensive team to take on Liverpool. We had predicted that he would go with Pedro and Liam Delap in the starting XI. That did not happen. Instead, he seems to have gone with a three-man backline as well as a midfield trio with Palmer having a free-roaming role behind the striker.
As one Chelsea fan wrote: “Why is Lavia on the bench?”
Another added: “Why didn’t you start Lavia against his favourite team?”
A third gave a more detailed analysis on why Lavia should have gotten the nod ahead of Andrey Santos: “I would always prefer Lavia starts these bigger games than Santos, especially because Liverpool have got some structural issues in their OOP shape that Lavia’s penetrative passing can exploit, to find the likes of Palmer between the lines.”
Lavia’s form did not justify a start vs Liverpool despite great past performances
At the end of the day, the coach needs to select the team based on form. And Lavia has not shown enough in recent times to be starting this game.
Of course, there are many who have been unimpressed with Santos as well, especially after how well he had done for Strasbourg on loan. That being said, he seems like a more steady performer than Lavia at this point in time, although the latter has more talent.
Let’s see how the Chelsea midfield deals with this game against Liverpool. Their performances on the day might have an impact on the team that gets picked for the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City as well.
