Another dire performance from Chelsea sees them start the season with the worst set of results since 1988. The Blues were comfortably beaten by Everton thanks to a Steven Naismith hat-trick and the only positive from this game for Chelsea was the strike from Nemanja Matic.
Before the game started many wondered how Chelsea would line up, especially after Jose Mourinho had stated that some players were not performing to their maximum ability, this was with regard to their home loss against Crystal Palace before the international break. Chelsea did make changes, one included dropping Willian and bringing in John Obi-Mikel to bolster the midfield and provide a bit of cover to the back four. They still relented with playing Branislav Ivanovic at right-back and that again proved to be an error in judgement.
Joe Mourinho stated after the loss that he is not under pressure at Chelsea but he must be thinking how a player’s performance could tank so quickly. Ivanovic was one of the best right-backs in England last season but this season he has been woeful and is partly responsible for a few goals that Chelsea have conceded this season. In this game against Everton, he was again to blame for a couple goals as he seems to have lost all his defensive abilities.
The Serbian is still pretty decent when it comes to joining the attack but his defensive play has gone down the drain it seems. Chelsea had lost only three games last season in the league; this time around they have already matched that with only five games of the season played.
Jose Mourinho certainly needs to drop Ivanovic; there is no doubt about that. They do have Cesar Azpilicueta who can plan down the right and has always been one of the most consistent defenders in the Premier League. They also spent a huge amount on getting Baba Rahman from Augsburg and he is a pretty good left-back, the former Bundesliga player should slot in perfectly for Cesar and provide a lot of support in attack.
Ivanovic was certainly right in one aspect, when speaking to Chelsea TV after the Everton loss. All Chelsea need to do is have one decent victory to get their season up and running. Currently there is no confidence in the tea, either in attack and defence. The central defensive partnerships are not working either and even the Chelsea attack seems to be out of gas.
Dropping Ivanovic would be just one small step that Jose needs to take if he wants to keep Chelsea in the race for the top four at least. The league might already be gone, unless Manchester City start playing like Chelsea.