CHELSEA’S DEFENCE GETS EXPOSED AGAIN
Chelsea Defender Admits Brentford ‘Bullied’ Blues in 3-0 Collapse
Chelsea’s defensive crisis has taken another worrying turn after Levi Colwill admitted Brentford physically “bullied” his team during Friday night’s 3-0 defeat.
The result was a major blow to Xabi Alonso’s promising start at Stamford Bridge and leaves Chelsea with just one point from their last three Premier League matches.
Chelsea dominated possession during the first half but completely lost control after the interval. Jaidon Anthony opened the scoring before Igor Thiago and Fabio Carvalho added further goals to complete a damaging victory for Brentford.
Colwill admitted afterwards that Chelsea were not good enough at set pieces and struggled to match Brentford’s physical approach.
The numbers make the problem even more alarming.
Since the beginning of last season, Chelsea have conceded 23 Premier League goals from set pieces excluding penalties, the joint-highest total in the division.
Alonso accepted responsibility for the defeat and admitted there is plenty for Chelsea to examine during the international break.
The manager had previously hoped for more “boring” matches after Chelsea’s goal-filled opening to the season.
Instead, his team have now suffered another defensive collapse.
Chelsea still possess enormous attacking quality, but if Alonso cannot fix their defensive weakness, their ambitions of challenging England’s elite could quickly become unrealistic.