Chicago Dimitry on Twitter is always making interesting Chelsea related graphs, and this week he’s done a really interesting study into a major problem that Chelsea have – their second halves.
It’s come to the fore this week because of the way Mauricio Pochettino sent out a team in the second half for the game against Brentford that looked like it had been given CBD pills at half time.
Chelsea are 4th in the league first half expected points (xPts) but are 8th in the league in second half xPts. The .2 drop between first half and second half is the second largest in the league. pic.twitter.com/9IRf1ZvSUU
— Dmitry (@ChicagoDmitry) March 3, 2024
All their energy and momentum was lost, and before we knew it the home side had taken the lead. It was a similar story in the Carabao Cup final. Pochettino’s team were dominant at the close of play in normal time, then totally terrified after a 5 minutes break in extra time.
Dmitry’s study bears out the eye test. Chelsea are 4th in the league in first half “expected points” and 8th in the league in second half expected points. The difference between the two is the biggest in the league.
