Arsenal and Chelsea beaten in Europe
Olympiakos inflicted 3-2 home defeat on Arsenal while Chelsea lost 2-1 in Porto
The Chelsea players must have known what Jose Mourinho thought of their recent performances, of being in the bottom half of the table, of 14 goals conceded from their seven Premier League games so far. Mourinho himself had said publicly on Monday that the squad had an attitude problem and needed to be more consistent.
And yet last night in Porto, Chelsea showed the same old defensive sloppiness that is preventing them for generating any momentum this season.
Chelsea lost 2-1 to a good Porto side here. The first goal came from yet another individual mistake byBranislav Ivanovic, who is struggling to keep his head above water this season and was given a harder time by Yacine Brahimi than he has had from anyone else this year.
Porto’s second, at the start of the second half, was even more infuriating, as Chelsea switched off again from a simple set-piece.
Mourinho came back to Porto, the club where he made his name, to match the hosts for organisation and athleticism. But his players are simply not defending well enough for Mourinho’s plans to work. We are almost into the third month of the season yet this 2015-16 Chelsea side still does not look like a Mourinho team.
While Chelsea had chances to draw 2-2, once Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic came on, the fact is that Porto had far more chances to go 3-1 up. Had they done so, it would have been a fairer reflection on the balance of play. Chelsea will surely still qualify from Group G – this was their hardest game – but they are not looking much better.
After destroying his players in public on Monday, Mourinho had no option last night but to make changes. Having questioned the “motivation, desire and commitment” of some of the squad, Hazard and Matic, two of their best players last season, started on the bench, where John Terry still found himself sitting. Oscar, Loïc Rémy and Falcao did not even make it that far.
Mourinho predicted a game of physical intensity so he partnered Ramires and Jon Obi Mikel – two of his less fashionable players – in central midfield. With Willian and Pedro working hard down the flanks, Chelsea had the players to dig in and hit Porto on the break.
It was the right plan and it nearly worked. Ramires and Mikel matched Giannelli Imbula and Danilo for athleticism in the middle, while Pedro and Diego Costa, playing like a grown-up, tested Porto in behind.
A Costa break down the left set up Cesc Fabregas, who forced a sharp save from Mourinho’s old friend Iker Casillas. The next move was even better, from Costa to Willian to Pedro, whose shot Casillas turned away from the bottom corner.
The problem for Chelsea is that a defence is only as strong as its weakest link. Ivanovic has looked heavy-footed and clumsy all season, so much so that it was a surprise to see him avoid being dropped. He struggled again here, gifting Porto the lead.
Brahimi danced in from the left and skipped past Ivanovic. Asmir Begovic did well to turn Brahimi’s shot away from the Chelsea goal, but Andre Andre was there to volley in the rebound. Begovic managed to get a hand to it but could not keep it out.
The Dragao is not an easy place to be when you are 1-0 down. Chelsea needed a response. It came with a spectacular equaliser from the final kick of the first half.
Ramires drew a foul from Danilo 25 yards out from goal, slightly to the left. Willian took the free-kick and curled it around the wall – where Chelsea had stationed some of their players – and into the far corner of Casillas’s net. He did not move as the ball flashed past him.
That goal might have drained Porto’s intensity, but it did not. They started the second half even quicker and sharper, still confident in the knowledge that Brahimi could do pretty much as he pleased with Ivanovic.
The Algerian winger attacked again down the left, skipping past Ivanovic, holding off Fabregas and forcing a corner off Kurt Zouma. Ruben Neves whipped the ball in and Maicon darted towards the near post, in front of Ramires. His glancing header was enough to divert the ball between Begovic and his near post.
It was the second header from a corner that Chelsea had
conceded in the last four days. They came with the intention of defending well but lacked the 90-minute concentration to do so.
Porto sensed Chelsea’s weakness and continued to push. Vincent Aboubakar, their i mposing centreforward, curled a subtle pass across to Brahimi on the left. He shot for the bottom corner. This time Ivanovic successfully got in the way.
Costa curled one shot on to the bar, but Mourinho knew his team needed more. Hazard came on for Mikel, replacing what security Chelsea nominally had with some more fizz up front. With his first involvement, Hazard nearly scored, skipping away from Maicon with his first touch, shooting into the side netting with his second.
Of course, no Mikel in midfield gave more space to Porto, and Imbula started to find his range from the edge of the box. He forced another save from Begovic before a remarkable passage of play in which Brahimi flashed one ball across the box, Imbula had a shot deflected over, Aboubakar had another blocked by Gary Cahill and Brahimi, in yet again, forced Begovic to save from close range.
Porto’s third felt imminent, and Chelsea needed more legs so Mourinho threw on Matic and Kenedy, hoping that the Brazilian would give Ivanovic more cover than Pedro had managed to provide.
But numbers alone were not enough to fix the breakdown in Chelsea’s marking. Again, they were disorganised when facing a corner. Miguel Layun, on loan from Watford, swung it in and Danilo’s header thumped the far post.
Chelsea managed to cause chaos in the box in the final minutes, in their desperate pursuit of an equaliser. They thought they had a good case for handball, and Costa shot wide with the final action of the game. Chelsea looked better with him back in the side, but strikers are far from their only problem.