Chelsea’s recent strife at Stamford Bridge is nothing new. They have struggled at home throughout Thomas Tuchel’s time in charge and the only thing that has changed since the manager’s opening game, a sterile goalless draw with Wolves 15 months ago, is that his side have become bad at defending as well as attacking.
This is an issue that runs deeper than the defensive implosions against Brentford, Real Madrid and Arsenal. There is more to it than the concession of 11 goals in three home games. This is not a sudden decline: it is a problem that has been festering for a while and for Tuchel it raises awkward questions over how he sets his team up given that Chelsea have earned only three more points than Everton at home this season.
There is no way to make the numbers look good. One statistic shows that Chelsea, with seven wins, five draws and three defeats, are ninth in the Premier League’s home table. Another reveals that Tuchel has the worst home record in the league of any Chelsea manager in the Roman Abramovich era. He has won 12, drawn eight and lost five games since replacing Frank Lampard, giving him a points-per-game tally of 1.76.
It is a far cry from the days when Stamford Bridge was a fortress. Chelsea made life hell for visiting teams after appointing José Mourinho in 2004 and went 86 games without defeat at home in the league before Liverpool ended their run in October 2008.
The fear factor is nowhere to be seen now. There have been flashes this season, most notably when they smashed Juventus 4-0 in the Champions League in November, but the performances have largely been flat in the final third.
There has to be an improvement when Chelsea host West Ham on Sunday afternoon, particularly as Craig Dawson is the last centre-back standing in David Moyes’s squad. The challenge is to show intent from the start. There have been too many times when Chelsea have allowed games to drift; too many times when the atmosphere has dropped and the forwards have toiled against a deep defence.
The contrast with Liverpool and Manchester City is stark. Inevitably, they have the strongest home records. If they face a weak opponent they pounce and, as Liverpool did when they beat Manchester United 4-0 at Anfield on Tuesday, they get the job done quickly.
“I saw the match from Liverpool against United,” Tuchel says. “They looked incredibly fresh and strong. Manchester City won their home game again. That is why there is the difference. They are relentless and don’t allow much. We are more fragile at the moment.”
Is it down to Tuchel’s system? He has favoured a 3-4-2-1 formation and prioritised control. It can feel overly cautious, more suited to playing away and hitting teams on the break. While Chelsea have the league’s second-best away record, at home there is little fury to their attacking. The pressing feels fragmented, they do not bully defences and when games are hanging in the balance there is always the risk of a late equaliser, as in the 1-1 draws with Burnley and Everton before Christmas.
There is too much jeopardy. Chelsea needed a stoppage-time penalty to beat Leeds in December and a moment of late magic from Kai Havertz to see off Newcastle last month. Faced with a low block, they tend to run out of ideas. Even United were able to sit deep and hold Chelsea to a 1-1 draw.
This is not what Tuchel, who has been griping about the Stamford Bridge pitch, envisaged at the start of the season. Chelsea were European champions and it seemed the addition of a goalscorer would make them more imposing at home.
Clearly, though, buying Romelu Lukaku has only created more confusion. The £97.5m striker was awful during Wednesday’s 4-2 defeat to Arsenal and looks unsuited to Chelsea’s style. They play patiently. It is hard to see how a target man fits into this side.
Equally, Lukaku is not alone in falling below expectations. Only Mason Mount has hit double figures in the league. Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic have four goals apiece. Callum Hudson‑Odoi has one. “If you look at the individual performances and the goalscorers and the assists at the top you find a lot of the Liverpool players,” Tuchel says. “We struggle to have these kind of numbers. We wish for quick games, quick decisions and quick goals but it’s tough.”
It has left Chelsea unable to keep pace with City and Liverpool. Instead, there is mild concern about them being dragged into a fight for fourth with Arsenal, Tottenham and United. “It would not suit us if we told everyone before the season that we would open a box of champagne if we were fourth,” Tuchel says. “But we don’t feel ashamed because in general it is very tough to end up in the top four.”
Tuchel tries to be optimistic. He points out that Chelsea have just won 6-0 at Southampton and were unlucky to exit the Champions League after beating Madrid 3-2 at the Bernabéu. The regret, though, is that Chelsea are rarely that lethal at Stamford Bridge. Carelessness at both ends of the pitch is holding them back and until he fixes his team’s home form Tuchel knows he can forget about catching City and Liverpool.
