Costly errors continue
Thomas Tuchel was clear what cost Chelsea against Leeds United – and it wasn't the tactical approach taken at Elland Road, the mentality of his squad, nor the intense high-pressing style of the home side.
'We scored an own goal, gave an awfully cheap set-piece away, and conceded from it," the German explained during his pre-match press conference. "This has nothing to do with pressing, running fewer kilometres, nothing to do with the style of Leeds. We should not confuse these things.
"We were able to cope with the style, be the better team, be one or two goals ahead, but we give a goal away, and the set piece has nothing to do with anything. From there, it's 2-0, and the belief for Leeds is on the top level, and our body language, even in the ten minutes before, was not what it was like in the last match."
READ MORE Every word Thomas Tuchel said on Leeds vs Chelsea, Mendy, Koulibaly, Gallagher, signings, more
The own goal referenced by Tuchel wasn't exactly that; the opener was scored by Leeds forward Brenden Aaronson. But it was self-inflicted as Edouard Mendy lost possession in his own penalty area and allowed the American a simple no-look finish into an unguarded net.
Defensive mistakes have become frustratingly commonplace for Chelsea since the start of 2022. And it's resulted in the almost impenetrable backline built early into Tuchel's tenure crumbling. In his opening 30 Premier League matches in charge, the Blues conceded 17 times. In the following 30, that figure stands at 34.
What is perhaps even more frustrating – and admittedly out of the hands of the 48-year-old – is the number of individual errors that have led to Chelsea conceding goals since the turn of the year. Mendy's was the fifth and only Watford, who were relegated last term, have made more in the top flight (8). It's something that has to change quickly.
Tuchel's strange transfer stance
Chelsea's transfer market approach this summer has been chaotic; there was a period earlier in the window when the Blues appeared to be targeting a different player every other day. Fortunately, things have calmed down somewhat, and the big-money targets have become clear.
One of those is Barcelona midfielder, Frenkie de Jong. The Dutchman has been linked with a £60million move away from the Camp Nou all summer as the La Liga giants attempt to rejig their wage bill in order to register the array of new signings brought to the club at great expense.
De Jong has resisted thus far, partly because he is owed €18m in deferred wages but also because he and his family are settled in Catalonia. That has left Manchester United disappointed but also Chelsea, who were confident they could come to an agreement with Barcelona over a transfer fee for the midfielder.
Yet when asked after the defeat at Elland Road whether a new midfielder was required, especially with N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic currently out injured, Tuchel reacted as if the suggestion was outlandish given the options already available to him at Chelsea.
"Another midfielder? We have Jorginho, N'Golo Kante, we have Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Conor Gallagher, and Mateo Kovacic. They're injured, yes, it's a problem. But they will come back. They've not disappeared."
Lukaku's lightning rod disappears
Romelu Lukaku became something of a lightning rod for Chelsea supporters' frustrations during the last campaign. Admittedly, that was partly the Belgian's own doing, given his ill-advised, mid-season interview with Sky Italia and his ineffective performances in the Premier League following his £97.5m signing from Inter Milan.
But the criticism Lukaku faced and the ire he drew from fans meant there was little focus on other underperforming members of the Chelsea attack. That is not the case this season, with the striker back at Inter Milan on loan and Timo Werner having been sold to RB Leipzig.
So the spotlight now is very much on Kai Havertz. Signed for £71m from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2020, the German has enjoyed huge highs during his time at Stamford Bridge. He scored the winner in the 2021 Champions League final and struck the crucial penalty in the 2022 Club World Cup final. They are goals etched into the club's history.
Yet Havertz can't continue to live off those wonderful moments in a Chelsea shirt. He has to become the finished product, the forward that can be relied upon week in, week out. And that is something the German international accepted he had to do during the club's pre-season tour in the USA in the summer.
"Consistency in football is a very big word; we play every three days, and we have to always keep the level high," Havertz explained. "It's also the case for me to be consistent in every match and to score as many goals as I can.
"Sometimes, it's normal that for one game, you drop the level. It's not always possible [for the team] to score five goals in every game. Consistency for me is a big point, and I try to work on that."
He added: "It is always good for a striker [to have the faith of the head coach]. I'm still young, I need to get that confidence from the coach, I need the trust, sometimes in the bad times too. He has always given that trust to me in the last couple of years. Hopefully, it will also be the case this season. In every match, I want to repay the trust back."
That hasn't happened as yet. Havertz is by far the only Chelsea attacker to not produce so far this season, but he was the least effective against Everton. Both Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount had good chances to open the scoring but were unable to do so due to a combination of poor finishing and good goalkeeping.
Havertz, meanwhile, drifted through the game. There was the occasional burst of energy, the brief flash of his undoubted quality, but it wasn't enough, especially as he lasted the 90 minutes as Chelsea searched in vain for a route back into the clash at a raucous Elland Road.
What comes next is intriguing. Chelsea are keen to sign another forward before the end of the transfer window; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is Tuchel's first-choice target. And if the Barcelona star arrives, then Havertz will likely find himself in a battle to start once more.
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