Sunday’s embarrassment at Elland Road was a foreshadowing of things to come if the Blues fail to address their lack of depth in midfield. Each failed to properly get ahold of the contest, regardless of Chelsea’s formation at the time (3-4-4, 4-2-2-2, 4-3-3, etc.) By the time the final whistle was blow, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech and Loftus-Cheek had all been pushed into the midfield at one point or another. It reached a point in the second half where Tuchel was simply throwing anything to the wall and hoping it stuck. The visitors were soundly-and rather inexplicably-beaten 3-0. This resulted in the Blues getting pressed to high hell and failing to establish themselves in the game overall.
This left Chelsea incredibly thin in the middle of the park, forcing Tuchel to start a pairing of Gallagher and Jorginho in a midfield pivot against Leeds United. Now, just three games into the Blues’ 2022/23 Premier League campaign, Kante and Kovacic have already wound up on the sideline. I think he is our key, key player but key, key players have to be on the pitch and he only plays 40% of games.” He is simply that player, he is our Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. Manager Thomas Tuchel said as much last season when discussing Kante’s future with the club: “He is our Mo Salah, he is our van Dijk, he is our De Bruyne. The unfortunate reality of the current situation is Chelsea can no longer rely on a couple of individuals to remain healthy. Related Story: Chelsea set to face many challenges throughout the season Chelsea needs to address the injury situation in midfield or risk failure
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