Long balls, set pieces, second balls, duels… there is no secret about Brentford’s play-style under Keith Andrews.
Still, Chelsea once again could not seem to cope with 90 minutes of pressure from an opposition side.
After a first half which saw Chelsea compete well by sticking to their tasks, a second half collapse ensured the Blues stay on seven points, and are now winless in three league matches.
Xabi Alonso is only the sixth manager to see his side concede two or more goals in each of his first five games as a Premier League manager, after Mick McCarthy, Sammy Lee, Terry Connor, Slavisa Jokanovic, and Scott Parker.
It is a bad statistic for the Spaniard who seems to persist with his back three system.
Off the ball, even with five defenders, Chelsea look vulnerable from cutbacks and crosses. It is hard to gauge whether the system is at fault or if it is just unreliable individuals.
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Alonso does not control the defensive set piece setup which saw Chelsea concede the opener tonight, but he does control the defensive line in possession, where the Blues were quickly transitioned on with just one through ball before Igor Thiago netted home for the second.
Levi Colwill, who seems to be suffering from playing as a wide centre back this season, stated similar (via Sky Sports): “We tried to push and maybe overexpose ourselves, play some passes we shouldn't have and forced it."
Jordan Henderson was one of those who pushed Chelsea on the front foot, he played well, but everything off ball became a horror show from a balance perspective in the second half.
Alonso, in his post match presser (via football.london), seemed to hint Chelsea lost their shape in the second half, and also their “competitive mentality”.
Both are extremely worrying, are the players not capable of executing and sustaining instructions? Are they even the right instructions? What was said at half time? Why was Alonso confident that just one defensive signing in Lacroix would change years of other players switching on and off when they feel like it?
The word ‘process’ was also said several times by the Spaniard after the match. Other managers before him have said the same.
While it is true that Chelsea are missing Moises Caicedo and that there have only been a few matches played, one does wonder whether the lack of concentration throughout a full match is something that cannot be fixed with time or instructions in certain individuals.
Meanwhile, away from the defence, there was also confusion in some quarters in the away stands this evening over the substitutions from Alonso.
For example, the introduction of Geovany Quenda. Fans like Quenda, but the debate is more around whether or not this was the right moment to introduce him at 1-0 down, considering that he played off his weaker side and had hardly played up until now.
The more sensible option would have been to bring on Estevao, who showed his ability as a super sub as recently as Arsenal, where his late effort forced a world class save from David Raya in order to keep the three points.
Pedro Neto works hard defensively, but offered little creativity in attack. Yet, he was only taken off for Estevao after Chelsea went 2-0 down, and with only a few minutes left. It seemed a pointless switch at that stage.
Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer cannot get two goal contributions a game all season. They are human. In nights like tonight, it is up to Alonso to show impetus and change things early enough and in right moments and positions for the substitutes to have a chance of making a meaningful impact.
All in all, a poor night for the Blues, who now have to wait twenty two days for their next match against Bournemouth.
While some-may see the three week international break as a good time to reset, analyse and fix deficiencies, I am starting to wonder whether they are actually fixable at all.
