Chelsea’s struggles in front of goal continued as they were defeated 2-0 by Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge. Despite dominating the game with 69% of possession and 27 shots, eight of which were on target, the Blues failed to find the back of the net. This has been a common theme for Chelsea this season, with their 29 goals scored being lower than 12 of their Premier League rivals and even relegation strugglers Leeds United and Leicester City, who have scored 36 and 39 respectively.
The pressure on manager Graham Potter is mounting, with the club having spent more than £550m since Todd Boehly took over last summer. Some sections of Stamford Bridge jeered the performance, with ‘Potter out’ trending on social media again post match. However, former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink backed the manager, saying they “must stick with” Potter.
Potter took responsibility for the defeat and conceded that his side were not at their best. Chelsea had an expected goals figure of 2.09 but were unable to find the net, with Ben Chilwell’s effort being ruled out for a push on Ashley Young and Mykhaylo Mudryk squandering their best opportunity when he produced a tame effort while one-on-one with Emiliano Martinez. Kai Havertz and Joao Felix saw efforts saved, while N’Golo Kante and Christian Pulisic missed chances.
Chelsea have now lost and failed to score in four Premier League home games this season – something that has only happened twice before since the competition’s 1992 inception. With games against Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle United remaining in their final 10 fixtures, the possibility of European qualification appears to be slipping away.
Despite Chelsea’s troubles, Hasselbaink remains supportive of Potter and the players they have signed. He believes that they need time to make mistakes and that they should stick with Potter as they have made a decision to buy young players. He also believes that Chelsea’s problem lies in the final third, as they don’t get enough people in the box.
It is clear that Potter is trying to stay brave and give positiveness to his players, but it is a tough one to take for him when creating so many chances and not being able to score. Chelsea will have to quickly return to league action, with fellow underperformers Liverpool next up at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday. It is essential that they respond if they are to have any chance of European qualification this season.