SHEFFIELD, England – As Chelsea continue their attempts to add Bayer Leverkusen winger Kai Havertz to the growing streak of offensive talent at Stamford Bridge, Saturday’s 3-0 defeat against Sheffield United on Bramall Lane led to inevitable sense that they are decorating the outside of the house while the water continues to pour onto the roof.
With the wing of Ajax Hakim Ziyech and the attacker of the RB Leipzig Timo Werner have already joined a team that boasts the likes of Christian Pulisic, Tammy Abraham and Olivier Giroud ahead, the capture of Havertz, if the Chelsea could do it, would give manager Frank Lampard incredible options going forward next season. But the way to Sheffield’s loss should sound an alarm bell within Chelsea’s scouting department because their top priority for reinforcement at the end of this season should be their defense.
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If Chelsea had won this game, combined with Wolves’ inability to defeat Everton on Sunday, Champions League qualification would have been assured if the Manchester City’s two-year ban on UEFA City was confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday. In the end, a catalog of defensive calamities against Chris Wilder’s team, who returned firmly on the hunt for a spot in the Champions League after this win – five points in fourth place with three games left, anxiously left Chelsea pending CAS verdict.
If City wins its appeal and is therefore able to compete in the next Champions League, this defeat could be what costs Chelsea a place in the top four and, consequently, denying them a place in the main European club competition. In that case, Lampard’s inability to deal with the recurring problems on the back will deserve a closer look than he has received so far.
“We know that goals often start with mistakes,” said Lampard. “At 2-0 down, you are making it difficult. Disappointing. Mistakes. Analyze the whole season and review and move on. We have to put him to bed quickly and fight for the first four. I learned a lot and I won not forget it.”
Chelsea’s history after the reboot was defined by the offensive contributions of Pulisic, Willian and Giroud. There were problems on the back, but Chelsea was largely able to score enough goals to make up for the mistakes and guarantee the points. West Ham’s 3-2 defeat earlier this month was a night when Chelsea’s luck ran out, with Andriy Yarmolenko scoring a last-minute winner for the Hammers after defending Lampard had become AWOL. But if the performance at West Ham was bad, it went much worse on Bramall Lane, to the extent that you have to ask yourself why Chelsea are concentrating their summer spending so much forward.
Also, don’t forget that Chelsea dumped the middle halves Gary Cahill and David Luiz last summer, respectively at Crystal Palace and Arsenal, without being able to replace them because of the club’s worldwide transfer ban. Fikayo Tomori and Kurt Zouma have been called up by the loan moves to compete with Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger for the central two points, but sometimes Tomori and Rudiger have impressed, Chelsea clearly need a dominant midfielder.
Shortcomings were evident against Sheffield United, which dominated Chelsea’s defense with physique and committed Oli McBurnie and David McGoldrick by winning virtually every ball, in the air and on the ground, against Christensen and Zouma. McBurnie was given too much space in 18 minutes to throw a shot on goal, which was kicked out by goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga before McGoldrick scored the rebound as the Blues defenders simply stopped to watch. The goal was McGoldrick’s first in the Premier League and while Kepa has made many mistakes this season, he has been disappointed by his defenders on this occasion.
United scored again in the 33rd minute when McBurnie was left unsigned to direct an Enda Stevens cross over Kepa with a powerful header near the post. McBurnie is an awkward figure, with all his arms, legs and energy, but Chelsea seemed to underestimate his ability to hurt them in the last third and they paid a heavy price. If they had had a central midfield in the team, Chelsea would have been able to face McBurnie and cancel his threat, but Lampard simply doesn’t have the options.
It was a similar history of defensive chaos that allowed McGoldrick to score his second, and United’s third, in 77 minutes with a close-range strike. It was the eleventh goal that Chelsea have conceded in six league games since the second half, and United have missed two clear chances to punish them further in the final stages.
“They were better than us, physically, in mind and with the ball,” said Lampard. “So you lose the game. They were stronger than us.
“Hear and hear every noise and all I could hear was the voices of Sheffield United. They are a good team. If you come here and perform below par, this is what will happen.”
Who knows how expensive Chelsea’s defensive problems will be? If they lose the Champions League, the cost will drop to millions and could deny them the opportunity to strengthen behind.
Havertz will no doubt be a fantastic signature if Chelsea manage to win the game for his signature, but it might be better to spend the money instead on a central defender and a goalkeeper. Goals can win games, but white games win trophies and Chelsea rarely seem to release one of them.
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