Chelsea are acutely aware just how quickly things can change in the world of football. When they met Brighton at home back in September, the Blues were untouchable, inflicting a 4-2 defeat on Fabian Hurzeler's side.
But on Saturday, a 2-1 defeat by the Seagulls now means Chelsea have gone five away games without a win, crashed out of the FA Cup, and will have to win the Europa Conference League and finish in the top four or five of the league table to salvage their season.
It was a disappointing evening in South Sussex, with alarm bells ringing for manager Enzo Maresca. His side enjoyed a good first half of the campaign but are now in danger of undoing all their hard work if he doesn't find solutions to the problems that surfaced in the 2-1 defeat to Brighton.
Sancho needs to be doing better
If there was one moment that would have frustrated the manager during the first half of the game against Brighton, it would have been summer signing Jadon Sancho, who is the sixth-most expensive English player of all-time. When Sancho came through the ranks at Manchester City, he was highly rated, even more so than Cole Palmer. But it’s Palmer who has developed the ruthless mentality to always score goals.
Sancho has the unique skill to beat his man, but against Brighton, he came up against Joel Veltman, who was on a yellow card. All he had to do was consistently go at him and try to get him to pick up a second yellow.
Instead, Sancho often slowed down and passed backwards. It’s not entirely his fault, as Nkunku dropped deep, and the lack of a target man hurt the team. However, given Sancho’s ability, you would have expected him to be more direct and take advantage of the situation.
If he's going to be the first-choice player on the left side of attack, Maresca must have a word with him. There’s no doubting his talent, but now is the time Chelsea need all of his ability to come into play.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, we need to talk about him
It's never easy when the manager has to make a substitution immediately after conceding a goal, and your name comes up, but that was the case for former Leicester City man Dewsbury-Hall at the Amex. Given his development in the Championship last season and his lack of minutes this season, you’d have expected him to show more fight and determination to force the manager to take notice. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
Chelsea are at the business end of the season, and first-teamers are running out of form. It always feels like a missed opportunity when those on the fringes just don’t take the chances given to them.
If there was a player who mirrored Maresca’s style of play, it would be Dewsbury-Hall, his own version of Mauricio Sarri’s Jorginho and just like Sarri, Maresca brought Hall with him to Stamford Bridge. But so far, with every minute he’s had, he’s done little to force his way into the manager’s thinking. That has to change if Chelsea are to turn this tricky period around.
Lots of possession, no penetration
Chelsea often have a lot of possession in games, but the final ball always leaves much to be desired. The incisiveness is simply not there. The highest scorers in the Premier League are Cole Palmer with 14, followed by Nicolas Jackson with nine, and Noni Madueke with seven.
The highest scorer after these three is Enzo Fernandez, with just three goals. It goes without saying that players like Pedro Neto and Jadon Sancho should be doing much better than they currently are.
Goals win games, and it’s no coincidence that when Nicolas Jackson's goals have dried up, Chelsea have struggled. There's a case to be made that the sporting directors should have helped the manager by bringing in another out-and-out striker. They might point to Christopher Nkunku’s lack of minutes and ask the manager to get more from him.
But the window is shut, and now Maresca needs to either find a way to get Jackson back to his best or find a way to help Nkunku add to the two goals he’s scored so far.
Against Brighton, Chelsea only managed seven shots, with one on target, all night. Two of those shots came before the fifth-minute goal – Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall hitting the side-netting and Palmer’s 20-yard effort being tipped over.
