Saturday, April 27, 2024
Aston Villa 2 - Chelsea 2
Are you not entertained?!
In the 8 or so matches since I’ve been able to record my thoughts in these pages, Russell Crowe’s meme-worthy declaration in 2004’s Gladiator has been stuck in my head:
Amidst general dysfunction, chaotic defensive performances, juvenile arguments between teammates, managerial incompetence, and erratic levels of intensity, there is one truth about this team’s recent performances - they have been FUN to watch!
Ok maybe not so fun for supporters anxiously gripping their seats expecting Chelsea to blow a lead, but you have to admit from a neutral perspective, these Chelsea games have been filled with exciting moments. For better and worse, that is because there are simply more goals. While the Blues have found their offensive stride through the central performance of Cole Palmer (Cole Palmer FC anyone??), they have also lacked any sort of defensive identity, conceding 59 goals so far, a tally not seen since before I was born (91/92).
If this season has felt like a roller coaster of emotions and results, that’s because that is exactly how it has played out. The absurd degree of inconsistency struck me as central to the narrative of this season, and so I felt compelled to graph the season’s results to see if it looked as crazy on paper as it did in my head:
Based on this chart, I count three 7-game stretches where every result was different than the last. No wonder my stress levels are elevated and my emotions towards this team difficult to unravel - they rarely put together the same performance two games in a row.
This will be my last match week commentary of the season. Don’t worry, it’s not because Chelsea’s insanity has finally driven me into the ground, but rather because I’ll be publishing a Season in Review post in early June, and I don’t want to give away too many of my takeaways in the notes below.
For now, I’ll do my best to keep my thoughts to the Villa match specifically, but unsurprisingly themes in this match overlay neatly upon larger themes from the season. Let’s get into it:
I think Poch’s expression here - which I’m certain was directed towards the refs - perfectly encapsulates my general reaction to Chelsea’s performance, in both awe and disappointment.
It’s the face you make when Chelsea concedes in the first 5 minutes of the game, lacking any sort of intensity and immediately making the challenge ahead that much harder against a well-coached Villa team. But it’s also the face I make when Conor Gallagher scores a brilliant 81st minute equalizer and exclaim “Where the f*** did that come from?!”
Here’s what Poch himself had to say after the match:
“The performance overall was really good. We played really well and dominated the game. We conceded two first-half goals too easily, so soft, but to come here and play against Aston Villa — like Arsenal, another team full of confidence fighting for the top four — was very pleasing. The players were so good. If we want to build something important, that is the way we have to perform.”
Despite the erratic and defensively-frustrating performance, I find it hard to argue with Poch’s general takeaway. Much like in the first matchup, Chelsea dominated large parts of this game, created great scoring opportunities, and generally looked the more threatening and capable of the two teams. In Chelsea-like fashion, though, the ingredients for a win were made into a draw.
Let’s start with the bad and work towards the positives.
It pains me to begin here, but the results necessitate it - what was Mykhailo Mudryk doing out there? Based on the online chatter, few Chelsea fans are rooting for this guy as much as me. It reminds me of the love I still bear for Timo Werner, a player whose style I really like but who objectively is not performing at the level of excellence needed for this team. I absolutely harbor hope based on some of the improvements we’ve seen from him this season - particularly in his connecting play - but today’s performance should quickly be forgotten. More to the point, how many more shots outside the box that go wildly off target can you watch before you know if a player lacks confidence, skill, or both?
I’ve already harped on the defensive issues enough, and will cover it much more in depth in the season review, but obviously conceding early is never great. I think what is the most frustrating is the combined lack of intensity and cohesiveness on defense. Whereas the offense has found a way to creatively connect, the defense still very much feels like “every man for himself”. And whereas I really admire Nico Jackson for the hustle he shows everywhere on the field, you have players like Noni Madueke who clearly only care about one half of the field.
Selfishness is such a big theme on this team, and it has a lot to do with the juvenile attitudes of a very young team. Almost every player has been guilty of boneheaded behavior throughout the season, and in attack in particular, even the great Cole Palmer has made some baffling decisions in the final third. Ultimately I think you have to chalk it up to inexperience and immaturity, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating to watch. Even worse is that these players are talented, so when they inevitably do score (as Madueke did) they probably feel somewhat entitled to continue making selfish decisions, despite missing plenty of other opportunities.
Fortunately it’s far from all bad news.
Coming back from 2-0 down and having numerous promising chances to take an outright lead makes this quite an entertaining team to watch! Caicedo’s improvement and development has been immense, and he was key in helping Chelsea to dominate possession and limit the damage after Villa took a 2-0 lead.
I want to give Madueke his fair due, and the flip side to being labeled “selfish” is that you have a deep belief in your own abilities, and in Madueke’s case, this has translated into important goals in important moments. This doesn’t absolve him of his other sins obviously, but I do wonder if a version of Madueke, better integrated into the team with a stronger bond with his teammates, could be very dangerous in future years. I think he has a strong work ethic, but football is a team sport.
Perhaps it was the sting of the Arsenal 5-0 thrashing, and again finding themselves multiple goals down, but the team has heart, and you never really felt like they were phoning it in. The comeback validates this, but I also think the emotion the players demonstrated upon scoring really indicated how invested they were in the result.
Speaking of goals, Conor’s curler from outside the box was another classic moment from a player who seems to only score bangers in key moments. His inconsistency in offensive production is frustrating, but he’s certainly had a better second half of the season.
And I’m really happy with how Nico Jackson’s finishing is coming along. It’s unfortunate that his goal was pulled back for offsides, but it’s moments like that that show me that his confidence and ability are maturing beautifully. I still expect him to miss plenty, but he just won’t stop working, and that’s the quality I want in a striker.
I’ll leave it there for now, much more to say, but I think it just makes more sense in an end of season review. Will Chelsea miraculously qualify for some European competition? Which of these players will still be around next season?
With all the reschedules due to cup competition, I’m thankful that there are still a handful of matches left to play in May. Up, down, neutral, whatever results Chelsea accomplish in the next month, their recent play has ensured that one thing will be true - entertainment is guaranteed.