Chelsea tore Brighton apart yesterday with a first half salvo of four goals which saw the Blues race into a lead so strong that even some calamitous defending didn’t cost them 3 points.
In the end, the Blues clocked 3.2 “expected goals” (xG), their best return of the season by some distance. That’s not even taking into account some major chances which were ruled out due to small offsides.
Enzo Maresca will be happy with the upwards trend in that department: 1.0, 1.6, 2.4, 0.8, 2.2, 3.2 in our first 6 games of the season.
We basically want to keep that number above 2 in every game, while keeping the xG against at 1 or under.
Chelsea a few tweaks away from real domination
In attack not much needs to change. Brighton made it easy for us by playing such an open style, but the squad now has such a variety of players with different styles and strengths that Enzo Maresca has the tools to unlock any defence.
In defence, much more stability is needed. After a good run, Robert Sanchez made mistakes on both goals yesterday, and there was more sloppiness passing out from the back which could have easily cost us had we been playing a more solid defensive team.
Malo Gusto is a great player, but he’s a risk taker. Marc Cucurella has his strengths but we all know he’s prone to at least one gaffe a game. That creates instability out wide, and Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana, for all their quality, are not yet a rock solid partnership able to deal with full backs AND a goalkeeper all liable to put them in sticky situations at least once a game.
Familiarity in the back line should come with time, and that’s what we’re relying on to reduce those silly mistakes and really make this team a winning machine.
