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It has been two matches since the January transfer window slammed shut, and after a 1-1 draw away to West Ham United on Saturday, Chelsea have yet to win a match with their new look team. After now drawing their last three matches, pressure on Graham Potter is growing with the results not matching the team’s spending, though in the manager’s defense, an entirely new attack was always likely to lead to some struggles as all the new pieces get acquainted. The Blues’ lone goal on Saturday came from a link up between two new faces as Enzo Fernandez dinked a ball over the top of the defense for Joao Felix. And while the attack was a function of new pieces, the goal conceded came from the same disorganized defense that has been a thorn in Chelsea’s side all season.
It’s early in his Chelsea career, but it’s clear why Chelsea pushed so hard for Fernandez, breaking the transfer record to get him from Benfica after an excellent World Cup. He continued that form by taking two shots, winning a tackle, and getting two interceptions. It wasn’t his cleanest game as Fernandez was dribbled past a few times but he looks to spring the attack each time that he got the ball at his feat completing seven long passes and assisting the opening goal.
But the issue for Chelsea is that Fernandez can’t do it all. The team dominated possession having the ball for 72% of the match but only turned that into six shots in the box. The Blues could’ve won the match if a penalty was given for Thomas Soucek’s handball late in the match but a team with this much talent shouldn’t need to hope for the referees to bail them out.
With new faces in the fold, Chelsea are beginning to look like a Potter team for better or worse. While Potter’s time at Brighton was successful, each match left you with the feeling that this team would be great if only they had a proper striker. That has carried over to Chelsea where Kai Havertz runs hot and cold, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang has been frozen out of the squad, David Fofana is new and untested, and Armando Broja is out injured. Felix can play striker in a pinch but he and Havertz like to take up similar positions.
Against West Ham, Havertz found himself with the ball at his feet in good positions to play Mykhaylo Murdryk or Noni Madueke into space but was often caught between passing and shooting and instead ended up getting dispossessed four times as the Chelsea attack ground to a halt. Havertz is someone who can shine in the right role for the Blues but it’s becoming increasingly clear that that role isn’t leading the line for a club with Champions League aspirations.
It’s an issue that Potter has dealt with before, finding creative solutions by utilizing Leandro Trossard and Pascal Gross at Brighton and even getting the best out of Danny Welbeck as a striker, but the lights are brighter and the stage is bigger at Stamford Bridge. Currently, in ninth place, the team not only needs to show progress with integrating these new players, but they also need to progress further into the Champions League.
A tie with Borussia Dortmund is coming on Wednesday (catch all the action on Paramount+), just as the Black and Yellow have found their form. It’s a team that will push Chelsea’s defense to their limits and they’ve been shaky at best when challenged. Failure to make it past the round of 16 in the Champions League would only see Potter’s seat get hotter. Someone else will need to step up over the next week alongside Fernandez to ensure that doesn’t happen.