After Chelsea’s frustrating Champions League loss to Atalanta on Tuesday night, Trevoh Chalobah has called for the team to come together. At halftime in Bergamo, the Blues were in charge with a 1-0 lead, but they played poorly in the second half, allowing the Italian side to come back and win 2-1.
Chelsea’s hopes of automatically making it to the knockout stages took a big hit with this loss. Meanwhile, manager Enzo Maresca’s decision to take Chalobah out at halftime was a turning point. Wesley Fofana took the place of the defender, who had been booked in the first half.
This change happened at the same time that the team lost defensive stability and gave up two goals to lose the three points. Even though he might have been upset, Chalobah stepped up as a leader and told his teammates to stay strong during this tough time.
Speaking to the press, he said:
“We have to stick together. It is easy to be together when you are winning but these are the times when you need to come together as a team.
“We have been in this situation before, every team has, so we need to focus on the next game, and it is another opportunity to get a result. We’re obviously down and disappointed. It is three points lost.”
Atalanta found openings that weren’t there in the first 45 minutes after the break, and the game changed. Chalobah said that the team was at ease before the visitors’ momentum changed quickly:
“They didn’t really create us too many problems, and it is important when it is 1-0, in the first ten to 15 minutes of the second half to stay in the game and give yourself the best opportunity to win.
“They scored and it put us on the back foot, and in the second half we didn’t really get going and didn’t get control.”
Chelsea loses to Atalanta: A look back at the game
Chelsea came to the Gewiss Stadium hoping to stay in the top eight of the league phase, and they got off to a good start. Joao Pedro scored in the 25th minute to give the Blues the lead. For the first 45 minutes, Maresca’s team looked organised and effective, stopping Atalanta’s attack.
But things changed a lot after half-time. Chalobah had to leave the field to avoid getting a red card, which made the backline look shaky. Atalanta tied the game in the 55th minute when Gianluca Scamacca scored with a header. Charles De Ketelaere scored the winning goal for La Dea seven minutes from the end of the game.
Chelsea are now in a very bad spot in the Champions League table, and they need to win their last few games to avoid the playoff round. Maresca will have to quickly get his team back together before they play in the Premier League again.