Outplayed and outmatched, once again, Chelsea are beginning to slide further and further down the table. So, what is going wrong for the Blues at the moment?
On Saturday evening, Chelsea fell to a fourth straight defeat with a 3-0 loss against Everton on their first ever trip to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
This was no smash and grab either. It was not "one of those games". Chelsea were comprehensively and thoroughly outplayed. So, what went wrong?
The collective performance was terrible, so it is harsh to single out too many individuals, but a few were so poor that it is necessary. Wesley Fofana once again proved that he is not cut out for this level.
Sometimes, being consistently injured actually helps your reputation. People forget your level when you are fit, which in this case, is clearly below par. The Frenchman was consistently bullied by Beto all evening. Chelsea are desperate for some physicality and steel in the centre of defence.
Anyone saying they aren't concerned with the performances of Cole Palmer is lying. Not only that, but his body language looked off today, and has done recently. Beforehand, even on off days, the effort and endeavour was there. That isn't the case at the moment.
There are a clear lack of goals in this team. Particularly with Palmer off form. If Joao Pedro hits a dry patch, which it looks like he may well have done, who will step up?
That's three games in a row now without a goal. In Paris, one of the two goals came from a goalkeeping error. The other goal came from Enzo Fernandez, who could have scored twice against Everton.
In midfield, Moises Caicedo has been off it for a while, and was hooked in the second half today. At his best, he holds the midfield down on his own. When he is not on form, there is a gargantuan drop off in the middle of the park. Nobody else is capable of easing the burden on the Ecuador international.
To finish off - with all due respect, Liam Rosenior is out of his depth. Let's remember this is someone who was sacked by Hull City less than two years ago. He was seventh in Ligue 1 with Strasbourg, several places below teams like Lens. He was doing okay there, but that shouldn't be enough to get you the Chelsea job.
But, well, this is the Clearlake world the club now live in. This is the reality. It feels like there is genuinely a non zero chance they pull the trigger during this international break.
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