WEST HAM 3-1 CHELSEA
WORST PLAYERS: Disasi, Sanchez
CHELSEA GOALS: Chukwuemeka (28')
BEST PLAYERS: Sterling(!), Chukwuemeka
WORST PLAYERS: Disasi, Sanchez
I've missed this feeling.
This was Poch's first loss as a Chelsea manager, and I feel it was somewhat deserved. I do think, however, and this is totally not blind optimism, that on another day the result may have been different.
A positive to take is that we looked like scoring for large parts of the first half and especially after going behind, bossing possession stats and creating good chances. Sterling was the standout and is having somewhat of a resurgence under Poch so far, which is great to see. The Chukwuemeka goal was a brilliant one, the work rate from Jackson to create was good and it was a great dribble and finish from Carney to equalize. Looked like a significant injury which took him off which is a shame because it looked like he was a key player for Poch down that left hand attacking side, but it gives good chances for Mudryk to come in and develop there, I suppose.
Jackson, I am crying out for goals. It's the one thing he's missing. First half we were in for another penalty had he not been a fraction offside, but he continued to do amazingly well at ST as a hold-up/support player for players to connect with. At the moment as well we don't have anyone else to play there, save Broja who still isn't back to full fitness. The goals will come though, I'm sure. That, and he's still in my fantasy team, and I really don't want to take him out yet.
We've finally discovered Enzo's weakness - penalties. A dire pen that's easilly saved by the keeper and we miss the chance to go ahead in the game into the break, and as Poch said in the post-match: if we score that penalty the game gets flipped on it's head, we carry on the momentum into the next half and if we nick another goal the game is done. It's why I'm not too fussed about the result, I still see good moments in there and we needed to get a reality check, I think, after a long stretch of wins and draws. This team is absolutely still work in progress, and we saw that today.
I would look at our defense - Sanchez is still adapting to life back as a first choice keeper, and he did have some off patches this game - notably the positioning for the second goal. Disasi was probably the worst of the 3 CBs, positioning was off. Silva struggled and it begs the question of if he should still be a starter in the team or if we need a reshuffle. Poch seems to be a fan of Colwill but he is still young and does lack a lot of physicality. This will come, of course, but I think he was bullied around a bit by the physicality of West Ham.
As a positive though, I thought Malo Gusto had a decent game, particularly in the second half as backup for James. I'm glad that we've finally gotten a player in that position to provide good backup.
I think Chalobah deserves a stint in place of Disasi, and I also think that Badiashile gets back in when he's back to fitness, as well, just because he has that extra experience and physicality. Perhaps trying out back 3 of Colwill-Badiashile-Chalobah would work?
Finally, I'm seeing a lot of Caicedo hate - remember he's only just signed, no pre-season and he's barely played football for months. Conceding the penalty is never fun and he'll get laughed at by a lot of fans for that. That being said, he really does need to prove that £115m price tag or this is going to continue - notice that nobody has teased Enzo for his price tag, because he's slotted extremely well into our team and is constantly a standout player. I believe Caicedo can do that as well, and he simply just needs more time. I'd predict him to start for his full debut next week against Luton, alongside potentially Romeo Lavia as well.
Playing for those 30 mins he took position just in front of the back 3, occasionally pushing upfield to attack, but it seemed to be him and Gallagher playing deeper in comparison to Enzo who pushed up into attack a lot more. He was good as a passing option and helped to develop play in the second half. Conceding the pen is always shit, but hey ho.
We were by no means awful in the second half, but West Ham had the bigger oppurtunities and higher expected goals. We can't slip into the same trends of a large possession stat and higher completed passes, but with nothing to show for it. But again, I think the chances will come under Poch, so no need to panic. They did in the first half and we did end the game with the higher xG overall, so just need to work on killing the game off early, and we're set.
Some last few bits:
- I do hope Enzo isn't a permanent pen taker - I'm guessing when Nkunku's back in the team he'll be no 1
- Luton is a fantastic chance for us to try some stuff out and see what works - switch in formation? New players coming in?
- I have no idea how I feel about Chilwell LW, we'll see if Poch sticks with it
- I dislike Paqueta (bad attitude). Actually, I dislike a lot of West Ham players. Aguerd trying to argue against his second yellow was very funny
- I'm seeing a lot of people say that we need a proper established ST and that's what we should have spent money on. I disagree (we've seen what happens when we spend big money there), I have faith in Jackson and Broja is a fine deputy. Can always reassess in 6 months though, plus we have a developing Datro Fofana on loan as well
A loss is a loss and it's always hard to watch and watch back, and it means that after 2 weeks our league position is not what I wanted it to be, but I can see the direction. Poch still has my full support and I think this will not become a trend. Luton next week has to be a win, no excuses. Anything less and that's when we start to panic.