What can stop Chelsea from winning the European cup this season?
Chelsea are unbeaten this season, streaking ahead in the Premier League and rightly amongst the favourites to win Champions League.
Yet they are still a long way off where they will need to be in order to win Europe’s top competition, and there are plenty of things that can prevent the Blues winning their second European cup.
Here we examine the five main obstacles that lie between Chelsea and further Champions League glory.
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5) Lack of cover up front
Didier Drogba is a club legend, and scored a couple of goals in Diego Costa’s absence last month, but he is a very different player to Costa, and the team doesn’t really function the same way with him in the side.
After drawing 1-1 with Schalke 04 in Drogba’s first start earlier in the year, the West London outfit drew 1-1 with Maribor and Manchester United and scraped a 2-1 win over League Two’s Shrewsbury Town in Costa’s latest absence.
Without the Spaniard’s ability to stretch the opposition’s shape, there is no room for Eden Hazard to attack the defence and create chances for his teammates.
Loic Remy has the necessary pace, but perhaps not the ability to lead the line alone against top Champions League sides. Without Costa, Chelsea will be too short of goals to get past the best sides.
4) Lack of rotation
Part of what has helped Chelsea so much this season in comparison to rivals Manchester City, Man United and Liverpool is the settled first team Jose Mourinho decided on at the start of the season.
With the exception of Willian’s battle with Andre Schurrle for the final spot, Mourinho has stuck with his first XI in every game, injuries permitting. T
he problem with this, as the season goes on, is the inevitable fatigue that sets in. While Chelsea have cover in defence and attack, they have no alternative to Cesc Fabregas in midfield.
3) Hot competition
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have both improved since last year, after swapping playmakers and continuing to improve their squads. Even FC Barcelona look stronger at the back, and have potentially the strongest front three in world football.
Chelsea are a better team than last year too, but have yet to really dominate an in-form big side this season.
2) Defensive Mentality
Against two of these big sides – United and City, the Blues controlled the game, took the lead, and then retreated, allowing both sides to snatch a late goal.
This can be blamed partly on Mourinho, who was overcautious in bringing on Jon Obi Mikel too early; but also revealed a fear from the players, who sat too deep and seemed to lack belief in their ability to attack while remaining solid at the back.
In the latter stages of the Champions League it’s no use sitting on a one goal lead with a second leg to come – taking the lead is the perfect opportunity to hit your opponents on the break and grab another.
1) Complacency
With their Premier League rivals in almost universal turmoil, Chelsea appear to be walking to the title. They have played well in most games, but have got away with plenty of lucky results in recent weeks, especially against Maribor and QPR.
The Blues can’t let their stroll to the title convince them they’re better than they are. When the going gets tough in Europe there are no “wakeup calls”, and the sloppy draws they’ve already had against Schalke and Maribor could have proved fatal in the knockout stages.