Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho responded to Liverpool legends Jamie Carragher and Graeme Souness following their criticism of the Blues’ Champions League elimination by PSG.
After the immense disappointment of Wednesday’s exit from the Champions League, Chelsea players and management must switch their focus to Sunday’s meeting with Southampton. Emotions might be raw, the wounds gaping but it is vital that they are not allowed to feel sorry for themselves. There is still plenty to play for this season, notably the principle prize in the eyes of the majority of supporters: the return of the Premier League trophy to Stamford Bridge.
But while the 2-2 draw with Paris Saint-Germain must be prevented from damaging the collective confidence too greatly, it is also important that it is not entirely banished from their memory. There are lessons to be learned that must be implemented this season and not just shelved for when they re-enter the Champions League in September.
The main concern is undeniably the lack of ambition that they seem to display in the big matches. Sometimes this approach is understandable, notably the fixture against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge in January when a depleted Chelsea team were happy to sit back and protect their lead at the top of the Premier League, settling for a draw to preserve their advantage. The same tactic had also been deployed in their meeting with City earlier in the season at the Etihad but on that occasion a lack of killer instinct saw them let 10-man opposition equalise late in the game; a harbinger of what was to come a few months later in the Champions League.
There is nothing wrong with playing counter-attacking football. Executed well at the highest level, it can be a devastating and thrilling form of the game. There is also nothing inherently awry with playing a possession-based game that stifles the opposition. The problem arises when there is no injection of positivity and lack of ambition turns into inhibition; a situation that is starting to take hold and was evident against PSG.
There also needs to be some variety in the way that the team plays. Although individual matches call for bespoke tactics — of which Jose Mourinho is normally the master at implementing — the patterns of play have not evolved from the beginning of the season. Back then everything was working beautifully, but in the interim teams have learned how to counteract their threat.
By pressing the conjuring Cesc Fabregas to deny him time and space on the ball, pushing hard down Chelsea’s right flank to force Branislav Ivanovic backwards rather than allowing him the freedom to join the attack and thwarting Chelsea’s most potent attacking threat in Eden Hazard by fouling him as often and as early as possible, teams have developed their approach while the Blues have not.
The change in both performance and attitude has to come from the manager. Although his detractors have had their knives out for the Portuguese in the wake of Wednesday’s result, he remains a fantastic coach capable of turning things around quickly. Nobody will have felt the pain of Chelsea’s Champions League elimination more acutely than Mourinho, and it is these moments that supply his seemingly bottomless pit of motivation.
In Friday’s pre-match news conference ahead of the Southampton game, The Special One came out swinging, firing choice comments toward some of those that have criticised his players and reinforcing his personal belief in the quality of his squad. The siege mentality is back once again, although words are one thing, actions another. Starting on Sunday, he will need to translate his rhetoric into team performance.
Jose Mourinho has been defiant in the face of criticism, but the reality is The Special One will need to evolve his game plan.
Claiming all three points will not be easy. Ronald Koeman’s Saints have been one of the surprise packages of the season, thriving in the early months despite losing a host of key players to big-money moves. Inevitably though, they have experienced a slight downturn in fortunes since the turn of the year.
Just prior to that Chelsea were unlucky not to win at St Mary’s, denied victory only by referee Anthony Taylor’s extraordinary decision to book Fabregas for simulation despite the Spaniard clearly being felled in the penalty area. Even so, Southampton were extremely well-organised defensively and restricted the Londoners to few clear goal-scoring opportunities. While they might not be finding the net too often themselves lately, they don’t concede many either. Chelsea’s faltering attack will find themselves up against another wall.
Scoring early would be very useful in easing the nerves of both the players and the supporters, although it will be equally important not to panic and to remain patient if things are not going entirely to plan. As Mourinho repeatedly asserted in his news conference, Chelsea are still five points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand over their immediate rivals. Every other team in the land would gladly swap positions.
Thus far this season Chelsea have proven themselves to be the best team in England. On Sunday, if the going gets tough, they would do well to remember that.
Phil is one of ESPN’s Chelsea bloggers and author of Chelsea-centric blog ShoutyandSpitty.com. You can follow him on Twitter @PhilLythell.