Chelsea - Weeks 1 & 2 Review

Reigning champions Chelsea faced a Swansea side who have hit the ground running this season and battled through for a 2-2 draw. Last year’s “best defence in the league” struggled massively throughout this match, with weaknesses exposed in right-back Branislav Ivanovic and Captain John Terry. Having lead twice, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho will be disappointed his side let the 3 points get away from them. He’ll be left further frustrated by Thibaut Courtois’ sending off as he brought down Bafetimbi Gomis, giving away the penalty which allowed Swansea to score their second equaliser of the game. Despite their appeal, the Belgian’s ban stood as the FA saw no reason to overrule the red card. Mourinho managed to shift the blame for the defeat onto his medical staff who ran onto the pitch as Eden Hazard went down late in the game, reducing Chelsea to 9 players for a period of time. Overall it was a strong Swansea performance and leaky Chelsea defence that brought about the draw and the Blues were lucky to get away with a point.

Next up came the task of who many consider to be Chelsea’s biggest challengers for the title this season, Manuel Pellegrini’s Manchester City side. Once more Chelsea’s defence struggled throughout the game, and with Captain John Terry being removed from the field of play at half time, it’s no wonder why Chelsea are further pursuing Everton’s John Stones as the look to strengthen their defence for the future. If not for Chelsea’s summer signing Asmir Begovic coming in to replace Thibaut Courtois in light of his suspension, the London club could have gone into the break 4 or 5 down – Begovic limited it to only 1-0. The Manchester City attack continued to torment Chelsea’s back line in the second half, taking the game to a 3-0 full time result.

Chelsea will need to recapture the form and confidence they played with last season quickly or they may be letting other title contenders – Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United – to get away too early in the season. Star player Eden Hazard will need to find form as soon as possible and take control of games as he was last season to secure more points otherwise they may struggle to compete with the top teams.