The post-match scenes following Chelsea's 3-0 defeat to Brighton painted a picture of a club in complete disarray. Liam Rosenior, the interim manager, apologized to the fans, who had been calling for his dismissal throughout the second half. Enzo Fernandez, donning the captain's armband, shrugged his shoulders at the supporters, despite his previous comments about joining another team. A 'We Want BlueCo Out' banner emerged from the away end, 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 dismal. From the moment Kaoru Mitoma forced Robert Sanchez into a save in the second minute, the tone of the game was set.
The lack of fight from the Blues was evident in the duels, with Chelsea's players taking 32 minutes to complete their first tackle. By halftime, 10 out of their 11 starters had not managed a single tackle.
It was no surprise that Chelsea were so passive off the ball, given that they have been out-run by every single one of their Premier League opponents - a streak of 34 matches. While context is necessary for this statistic, as Chelsea often have high possession and force their opponents to chase them, the fact remains that they are underperforming. The teams around Chelsea in the list of most out-run teams are also underperforming, and Chelsea could potentially end the week in the bottom half of the Premier League table. The data is made worse by the fact that the message is not getting across to the Chelsea players.
Despite Rosenior's comments that his team's habits were 'indefensible, unprofessional, and unacceptable', defender Trevoh Chalobah had a different view. '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 players' 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 concerning, but to not even register a shot on target in the fifth is alarming.
The underlying data is even worse, with Chelsea's 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 Chelsea missing Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro, and Estevao, the fact remains that 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 signings of the summer.
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 pinching players and backroom staff from the Seagulls.
For them to be battered home and away by the team whose direction they have followed so much is the ultimate shame. Chelsea have tried to rebuild their club and got it all wrong. Now, there is a desperate need to change course once again.