Gary Neville hasn’t shied away from criticising Chelsea after their loss to Leeds, and his biggest issue could be even more detrimental against Bournemouth.
Chelsea have been dragged through the dirt after their latest Premier League outing.
The performance was a far cry from what we have seen for most of the campaign.
Even before the trip to Leeds, Neville claimed Chelsea don’t have enough quality to really challenge for the title. This game certainly won’t change his mind.
But Neville was particularly struck by the play he saw from some of the Chelsea players at Elland Road.
Who deserves most of the blame for Chelsea’s loss to Leeds?
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Chelsea defenders in possession drove Gary Neville crazy
Enzo Maresca has taken a lot of the blame for Wednesday’s loss.
Speaking to the media ahead of this weekend’s fixture, Maresca admitted he made bad decisions against Leeds, particularly at the back.
And that’s where Neville’s issue stems from as well, as he explained on the latest episode of The Gary Neville Podcast.
He says: “I think you go to Leeds United and, look, Leeds haven’t been great recently, but there has to be a little bit of understanding of what you may face. I didn’t think there was any of that from Chelsea. I think the coach made changes.
“He played a very young team, they’ve got young players anyway, but you know, Chalobah at right-back was awkward in terms of on the ball first half.
“Then a mountain of passes, a million passes in the back three that was driving me crazy. And you start off passing slowly. Don’t start a game bloody slowly. You’re playing for a top club, get the game moving, get the ball moving quickly, get your tempo and your passing, get your touch right.”
Chelsea players look dejected after Leeds goal
Photo by Daniel Chesterton/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
If you were watching the broadcast live, you would have heard Neville on commentary growing increasingly frustrated with just how much of Chelsea’s possession was constrained to the three centre-backs on the pitch.
It was a problem against Leeds, and led to Tosin Adarabioyo’s error. Against Bournemouth, it could be even worse.
Was Tosin Adarabioyo’s mistake against Leeds worse than Edouard Mendy’s?
Take a trip back to Chelsea’s glorious 2022/23 season! 😅
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Bournemouth will punish Chelsea if they do the same again
Leeds turned up against Chelsea and looked like the only side wanting to grab hold of the game.
Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth side — the most active pressers in the Premier League — will be even more intense in chasing down the Blues.
Led by Antoine Semenyo, the Cherries’ attack is full of energy and physicality, and they won’t allow the same lethargic back-and-forth play between defenders. Especially at the Vitality Stadium, they will be go and hassle the centre-backs.
Luckily, it should be a much different back line on Saturday.
Reece James or Malo Gusto should be on the right, and Wesley Fofana is well-rested going into this one.
Chelsea need to be composed with the ball, and that can mean some recycling of possession, but if they take it to the extremes of the Elland Road display, they will be punished.
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