Chris Sutton calls Chelsea a bang average team; also calls for patience with Pochettino
The Blues looked very underpowered and chased shadows the entire game at Anfield in the 4-1 loss to Liverpool. Christopher Nkunku scored a consolation goal but the damage stood more than just done by that time before Luis Diaz scored within ten minutes of the Frenchman to shatter any lingering hopes of a result from the game for Chelsea.
Chelsea fielded a strong lineup of whatever was available and had to face a Liverpool side with their first-choice full-backs on the bench, their highest goal-scorer still recovering from injury and one of their key creators yet to feature in a game this season. The midfield was as crucial as ever in this game with former Liverpool targets Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez going up against the team that showed tremendous amounts of interest before the Blues eventually signed the pair.
However, it was far from a balanced matchup as Liverpool’s midfield trio of Curtis Jones, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szboszlai ran the show and did not give the Blues’ midfield enough time to create any substantial impact on the game. The Reds’ press resistance coupled with their own heavy metal style of football saw Mauricio Pochettino’s side suffer their joint-largest defeat in the league this season after Newcastle beat the Blues with the same scoreline back in November.
Patience is key!
BBC Pundit and former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton spoke on air about the game after the full-time whistle. While calling for patience with Pochettino, he also termed the Blues a ‘mid-table’ side and there’s hardly anything that we can take from the match to oppose that view. Apart from the two controversial penalty calls which went Liverpool’s way, the performance, all in all, was not something the Blues should be proud of, Here is what Sutton had to say via BBC:
“Have Chelsea improved from last season? Yes, but they couldn’t be much worse.”
“They need to be patient with Mauricio Pochettino, but Chelsea looked like a bang average mid-table team.”
Nevertheless, there would come roadblocks and setbacks in our quest to reach the heights we desire and this game was just one of those. As Sutton rightly said, last season, we were nowhere near where we could be. While there have been improvements, there’s still a long way to go and it becomes important for the fanbase to rally behind Pochettino who seems to introduce a sense of positive change to the Blues.
As far as this game is concerned, we have a chance to avenge very quickly. Both teams will lock horns at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final on 25th February. Revenge is a dish best served cold. Avenging three results including both the cup finals of the 2021-22 season and this embarrassing 4-1 loss with silverware to win would be the best way to get back at Jurgen Klopp and spoil his farewell party.
What follows in the upcoming week is Wolves at home followed by a quick trip to the Midlands to face Unai Emery’s high-flying Aston Villa in the FA Cup Fourth Round replay. It is important for Pochettino’s side to not lose confidence and aim for only the best result in each of these games.
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As Poch said, and most of the fanbase concurs, we move on.