LEEDS 3-0 CHELSEA
Leeds goals: Aaronson 33', Rodrigo 37' (a: Harrison), Harrison 69' (a: Rodrigo)
Chelsea subs: Pulisic (for Gallagher, 64'), Ziyech (for Jorginho, 64'), Chilwell (for Mount, 77'), Azpilicueta (for Sterling, 87')
Put in the performance of our lives last week, to playing absolutely dreadfully this week.
I'll keep this one short because there's not a lot of positives to talk about from Chelsea's end. Fair play to Leeds, always a tough challenge against them and I think the result is deserved. I've always admired Marsch and despite losing some key players (Raphinha, Phillips), Leeds look as strong, if not a lot stronger.
There was the stat doing the rounds that Leeds covered 11km more ground than us. I don't know if Tuchel will implement the Ten Hag strategy of making the players run that distance in training, but whichever way you look at it it isn't good enough.
Tuchel also said we were the better team, mentioning that two of the goals were the result of an individual mistake and a set piece mistake, adding to the latter that we 'really need to practice defending set pieces'. and while that is true, you could see who wanted it more on the pitch. Leeds pressed much better and were a lot more clinical. We have this recurring issue of not finishing our chances and something needs to change, either in the tactics or the personnel.
GK + DEFENCE:
Mendy was awful for the first goal. Tends to bounce between having some phenomenal moments and making very silly errors that a first choice GK just shouldn't make.
K2 red carded is a blow, he's played very well so far and will be missed. This game I feel like he was a bit flustered, and lost his cool a bit. It's a very light foul for the second yellow but it stops a counter-attack so I can understand why it was given. James plays RCB fine, and I get that Tuchel likes to drop him into that role when coming up against a pacey or tricky striker to keep them occupied, but he can't continue to play him there permanently if we want creativity or chance creation back in this team. RWB is where he thrives and it's how we got back into the game at Tottenham - his crossing ability and ability to run into the box and finish chances is what we need right now. Stick Chalobah or even Azpi there, or sort out a CB signing ASAP.
MIDFIELD:
Losing both Kante and Kovacic is a massive blow. I felt this was our weakest area on the pitch this game, Leeds were happy to execute a frantic press and put both of our CMs under pressure. I like Gallagher and felt like he had a few moments of good quality but he really is wasted in that 6 role. Tuchel swapped him with Mount later on in the game and it worked wonders - while his forward passing isn't the worst Gallagher is much better when he's in and around the box, whereas Mount has strengths as a more creative player, getting the ball into dangerous areas. I hope Tuchel tries that out against Leicester if Mount and Conor keep their places.
Jorginho will get a lot of the blame as the more senior midfielder, he can't really do much and will just have to shake it off. We can sign loads of youth prospects in midfield but in truth a short term quality solution (Donny?) wouldn't hurt at all.
ATTACK:
As for the attack: it's more they didn't get the service rather than having bad games. Mount and Havertz had very few touches of the ball, plus I haven't seen the best of Sterling yet and Tuchel needs to try and figure out how to get the best out of him. We brought on Pulisic and Ziyech and went all out attacking in the latter parts of the second half but in the end we didn't really have a clue.
Don't really know what else to say.
OVERALL:
Mentality was what decided it here. We simply didn't show up at all. This was a one off and I think our run of games from here (Leicester-Southhampton-West Ham) should all be wins, plus by then the table will look a lot different.
I spoke a bit about players potentially performing better in different positions (Mount + Gallagher) so I think it's up to Tuchel now. Of course injuries don't help and we'll see how many more players we bring in between now and the end of the month - but this game definitely highlighted how we can be exploited.
If Auba does sign, we could see a Sterling-Auba-Havertz front three and have Mount move a bit deeper becoming another CM option for us. I have no idea what to expect from Aubameyang - obviously he left Arsenal over disputes and not showing up to training; you can see his quality whereever he goes, he's played well at Barca but I think he was in his peak under Tuchel at Dortmund.
There's also Leao from Milan and always the possibility of Gordon from Everton (though I think the bid we made is way too much + don't really rate the move). At least we're actively trying to make another attacking signing.
After a game like this you'll have a lot of reactionary messages from people on Reddit and Twitter - I'm not too worried: of course I hate losing and the result pissed me off, but I don't think it'll carry on, I expect us to bounce back against Leicester and then we can go from there. We're still only three games into the season and things can look a lot different in the weeks to come.
Leicester next, win pleaseeeee thank you