Nizaar Kinsella is at Fulham for Chelsea’s crucial game against the Whites, and he’s noticed how the away fans are reaction to another dreadful attacking showing from their team:
“Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella just passed the ball out of play with no option ahead of him,” the BBC’s man on the ground wrote from Craven Cottage.
“That’s because Fulham are winning the tactical battle when it comes to man to man marking in their high press. The Blues away end are again chanting “attack, attack, attack” but when they do break the press then they look threatening. However, those chances to attack are all too few and far between.”
It’s a continuation of what we’ve seen for a couple of weeks now – the Chelsea supporters telling their team to attack, jeering when they play the ball out slowly from the back or play it short from a goal kick. Manager Enzo Maresca has said time and again that he won’t change his style – but it’s hard to see him surviving if his team keep playing like this.
At the moment the results are as bad as the playing style, and that’s really saying something.
Chelsea close to breaking point as post-Christmas collapse continues
We would imagine those chants are going to get a lot more aggressive and a lot more pointed in the second half should this dreadful display continue. Maresca admitted in his press conference this week that it was down to him and his players to prevent these sorts of reactions from their supporters by getting on the front foot and taking the game to their opposition. He also insisted that it was possible for fans to get engaged with his preferred style.
Well, so far, so bad, on that front.
