Chelsea are trailing eleven points behind Manchester City after a mere five games of the 2015/16 Premier League season. The shocking gap was bridged even further as Chelsea were beaten 3-1 by Everton at Goodison Park.
In the entirety of last season, Mourinho’s rugged defence conceded 32 goals in 38 games and managed to lose only three matches all season. This season, Chelsea have already lost to Crystal Palace, Everton and the favourites to remove their Premier League crown City.
A stalwart in Chelsea’s defence for the last eight years Branislav Ivanovic told Chelsea TV: “We need one big win to come back to our way. We are not playing as badly as the results are showing but we have to wake up.
“I think at the moment we are being punished for all our mistakes. The only way we can change is to work hard and be ready for the next game, so it is like a final and we have to play like a final.”
Nobody could have predicted that Mourinho’s infamous defensive line of Ivanovic, Terry, Cahill and Azpilicueta would have leaked 12 goals in the opening five games. Chelsea have conceded more goals than any other team in the Premier League this season.
Mourinho reacted by substituting Terry off at half-time against City and publicly announcing his admiration for Everton’s centre-back John Stones. Mourinho has since dropped Terry for Kurt Zouma against Crystal Palace. Then, he dropped Cahill for Zouma this week against Everton. Chelsea’s boss is aware there is a problem he just cannot find the remedy to fix it.
Chelsea will be counting on boosting their confidence by beating Maccabi Tel Aviv on Wednesday in the Champions League. Mourinho needs to discover the correct formula, as the Blues host Arsenal next in the Premier League.
Ivanovic told Chelsea TV: “The next game is very important for us. It is a new competition and it is time to change this situation. I hope we will start winning the games soon.”
If Chelsea drop more points to Arsenal and City manage to beat West Ham at the Etihad next week, it would not be ludicrous to claim that Chelsea’s campaign to retain the title is already over. Pellegrini’s defence have failed to concede a single goal, whilst Mourinho doesn’t even know who to consistently select in defence.
