CHELSEA fans could be singing a classic song “The Roof is on Fire” by Rock Master Scott and The Dynamic Three after the defeat to Southampton last week.
After another defeat to Tottenham – three in a row if you count the loss to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League – Chelsea fans might think the whole house is on fire!
Since Graham Potter took over, Chelsea spent £500mil (RM2.6bil) in January, but the club are still winless in February. One win in their last 11 games in all competitions.
Four scored against and 14 conceded in 2023, and two wins in 16 Premier League games for Potter.
With this type of form, will Potter survive the week?
Once again, Chelsea got a lot of width but no real threat inside the box. Todd Boehly definitely did not know his assignment while wearing the director’s football hat. Instead of buying a number nine, he got wingers and central midfielders instead.
You could smell trouble brewing for the squad when Thiago Silva had to be substituted in the 19th minute due to injury. The balance was off, and it was shown during the game.
Spurs were valued for the win and played great football along the way.
The club are slowly building a lead over nearest contenders Newcastle, but the Magpies have two additional games in hand.
If Spurs can reproduce this type of football away from home in the next couple of months, they will secure the Champions League qualification spot. Unless they do a “Spurs.”
Liverpool did not bounce back from the defeat to Real Madrid and only managed a draw against Crystal Palace.
Juergen Klopp’s press conference was a weird one when the manager was happy with one point.
It shows how much the mentality of the club have changed in the last couple of months.
From being famously known as “mentality monsters”, you can call Klopp’s boys “fragility monsters” these days.
It is getting really tight at the bottom of the table as both Leeds and West Ham climbed out of the relegation zone with the win.
Leeds left it late, whilst the Hammers found their scoring touch via Danny Ings, who got himself two goals against Nottingham Forest. His signing could be the difference maker in them staying up this season. Chelsea missed out on this transfer for sure!
Some Premier League fixtures took a backseat this weekend to make way for the first major trophy this season in the form of the League Cup final.
It was a pulsating match between the two Uniteds: Manchester and Newcastle. Just like that, Erik Ten Hag ended a trophy drought for the Red Devils.
This title win could be an inflection point for Manchester United, because winning your first trophy could lead to bigger things in the future.
The top management will also allocate more funding in the summer to improve the squad for the winning manager because he has the trust to deliver trophies for the club.
For Newcastle, the quest for the first trophy after many years continues.
The defeat could be demoralising for the players, but they need to raise themselves up for the fourth place chase.
Whilst Newcastle gave a good fight in the final, the team still lack a big game player such as Casemiro to rise to the occasion and win them a trophy.
Fear not, the Saudi project is headed in the right direction and coach Eddie Howe could have identified that big game player as the Magpies’ own Winning Factor.
