The aftermath of Chelsea's 3-0 defeat to Brighton painted a picture of a club in disarray. Liam Rosenior apologized to fans who had called for his resignation throughout the second half.
Meanwhile, Enzo Fernandez, donning the captain's armband despite his previous comments about joining another team, shrugged his shoulders at the same supporters. A 'We Want BlueCo Out' banner emerged from the away section, with co-owner Behdad Eghbali in attendance, just a week after he expressed his confidence in Rosenior's long-term success. On the pitch, Chelsea's performance was just as abysmal. From the moment Kaoru Mitoma forced Robert Sanchez into a save just two minutes in, the tone of the game was set.
The Blues' lack of fight was evident in their duels, with their players taking 32 minutes to complete their first tackle. By halftime, 10 of their 11 starters hadn't managed a single tackle.
It was no surprise that Chelsea were so lackluster off the ball, given that they have been out-run by every Premier League opponent this season - a streak of 34 matches. While context is necessary for this statistic, with Chelsea often having more possession, the fact that they are surrounded by underperforming teams in the list of most out-run teams is telling. This Chelsea side is underperforming, and they may end the week in the bottom half of the Premier League table. The data is worsened by the fact that the message is not getting across to the Chelsea players.
Despite Rosenior labeling his team's habits as 'indefensible, unprofessional, and unacceptable,' defender Trevoh Chalobah had a different perspective. 'I think the boys were running their socks off,' said the center-back. 'If you look in the dressing room, everyone is tired.
It's nothing to do with effort. We gave it our all.
We got beat today.' However, Brighton ran seven kilometers more than Chelsea on Tuesday night, raising questions about the Blues' effort. There is a clear disconnect between the players and the head coach, which even Rosenior cannot deny. 'Judging off that performance, it looks that way,' said Rosenior in his press conference.
'I won't lie, that was unacceptable. I don't feel there's a disconnect between me and the players. We work very closely with them in training, individual meetings, team meetings. We are giving everything to the players.
There is a lack of spirit, lack of belief.' The headlines, however, lie in Chelsea's attack. To go four Premier League games without scoring a goal is bad enough, but to not even register a shot on target in the fifth is alarming. The underlying data is even more concerning, with their first-half Expected Goals (xG) tally of 0.04 being lower than any of Maresca's 114 halves of Premier League football as Chelsea boss. While injuries can be cited as an excuse, with Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro, and Estevao missing, this is a squad that has cost £1bn to assemble.
Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho are established Premier League players, and Liam Delap was one of the first summer signings. Rosenior will ultimately take the blame for not getting the best out of this Chelsea team, especially given Maresca's previous success. His decision to revert to a 5-3-2 formation for the first time in the Premier League looks desperate, and even more foolish when he changed back to a 4-2-3-1 at halftime.
Perhaps it was fitting that BlueCo's Chelsea project was exposed in such a brutal way at Brighton. Since Chelsea's new owners arrived, they have tried to replicate what the Seagulls have become, hiring one of Brighton's sporting directors and poaching several players and backroom staff.
For them to be battered home and away by the team whose direction they have followed so closely is the ultimate shame. Chelsea have tried to rebuild their club and got it all wrong, and now there is a desperate need to change course once again.