Chelsea doomed their title defence before it began and could miss out on top four

Football just like everything in life is usually determined by fundamental laws and one that tends to come to mind with regards to repeating is the adage which states “If aint broke don’t fix it”, unfortunately for Chelsea they’ve been guilty of transgressing that law. In a bizarre bit of decision making Diego Costa and Nemanja Matic were allowed to depart Stamford Bridge and sooner or later those decisions were bound to come back to haunt them.

The Blues had been looking impressive a few weeks ago when they were tied for second spot with Manchester United and it seemed that they had gotten over their slow start to the season. Since then the Blues have dropped ten valuable points in winnable games. This has mostly come down to something which could be a point of concern for Chelsea as the players they brought into the side haven’t exactly been able to fill the void left by Costa and Matic, Álvaro Morata wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders before his injury and Michy Batshuayi as his back up didn’t seem suited to Chelsea’s playing style.

Hence Chelsea have had problems in attack so what’s becoming more evident is that in order to compensate for their lack of depth they’ve been becoming over reliant on certain players like Eden Hazard to carry the team. The Belgian seems to be the only creative spark for Chelsea and there are signs of great partnership forming between him and new teammate Olivier Giroud. The former Arsenal man assisted in the first of two goals but in a team boasting the attack talents of Willian, Pedro and Fabregas you’d have to fear for Chelsea in the run in towards the end of the season especially as they take on Barcelona followed by back-to-back trips to Manchester.

Those two trips could prove to be pivotal as losses in both games could mean an end to their Champion’s League hopes as the team’s around seem to be changing up a gear. And still they also have problems in defence with their previous heavy defeats coinciding with the absence of Andreas Christensen. Christensen was subbed off against Bournemouth, what followed was a defensive with Chelsea going into meltdown mode. His return spells some great news for the Blues, but their overreliance on the Dane in a team with experienced internationals is concerning.

 So the lesson for Chelsea should take away from this season is don’t mess with a winning formula unless you have something better to take its place.