Chelsea's creaking defence leaks again

Chelsea 3 Everton 3:CHELSEA HAVE the best defence in the world. Or so Carlo Ancelotti said two weeks ago. Since then the reputation of his team's rearguard has suffered the sort of image adjustment that could draw empathy from Tiger Woods.

What was hailed as flawless suddenly seems farcical, with Chelsea conceding 10 goals in the course of four winless games and the defence committing so many transgressions that opponents are surely now plotting to expose more. The 3-0 demolition of Arsenal last month, after which Ancelotti’s team were widely trumpeted as sure-fire champions, suggested that Chelsea had well and truly got the early season defeats at Wigan and Aston Villa out of their system, but the defensive disarray that was evident in those losses has recurred.

Chelsea’s difficulty dealing with set-pieces seems to be becoming progressively more acute, the latest manifestation being the most alarming to date. Following the error-induced loss at Manchester City and the sloppy Champions League draw with Apoel Nicosia, the shambolic way in which understrength Everton were allowed to become the first visiting team to take Premier League points from Stamford Bridge this season served as the starkest indication yet that remedial measures are required.

All three Everton goals originated from run-of-the-mill set-pieces – two free-kicks and a throw-in. Indeed, virtually every high ball into the Chelsea box triggered an outbreak of the jitters in the home defence. Being beaten in the air by the giant Marouane Fellaini is understandable, but John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho were also continually outjumped by Louis Saha, who, as David Moyes rightly rejoiced afterwards, “was in a class of his own, absolutely all over them”.

Ancelotti sought to play down the extent of the defensive shortcomings, but his insistence that it will be rectified was tinged with exasperation.

“We thought the problem with the set plays was resolved after Aston Villa,” he said. “We have to return to work. In training we always spend a lot of time on defending the set-play situations. We need to spend more time, we just need more concentration.”

That prompts the question as to why Chelsea should lose concentration, and on that point the Italian’s explanation is about as reassuring as his team’s organisation at set-pieces. He attributed the slackness that preceded Everton’s first goal to complacency and said the following two came about because “after that we lost our confidence in the box. Not only the goalkeeper, all the players.”

The brittleness of the confidence of Chelsea’s defenders, and their tendency to drop so deep as to clutter up the six-yard box, as decried by Ancelotti and Petr Cech after Saturday’s showing, could be explained by the fragility of Cech, who, while still capable of exceptional saves, has become more error-prone than he ever was during Chelsea’s triumphant campaigns under Jose Mourinho.

The last time Chelsea went four matches without a win was in September 2007 – the month in which Mourinho was sacked – but concluding that the club are in crisis now would clearly be premature.

Indeed, with matches averaging three goals a game so far this season, compared to 2.58 last term, Moyes reckons any decline in defensive prowess is widespread.

“It’s a strange Premier League at the moment. There are lots of goals, I know that makes it entertaining for the media and viewers but you have to ask also if there’s good defending? I can’t quite put my finger on what’s going on.”