It’s that time again: the time when bridgeviews.co.uk takes a look back over the last month and what the stats tells us about Chelsea’s progress. This time, the focus is on all or nothing football, defence being king and a developing trend away from home…
It’s all or nothing
Into the fifth month of the Premier League season, it’s remarkable that Chelsea are yet to draw a game. While Ancelotti’s men have swept to wins in 80% of league matches so far, it seems the prospect of defeat isn’t having too much of an effect: all other games – against Wigan, Villa and latterly Man City – have ended in defeat. If it’s because Chelsea go gung-ho in the closing stages of matches when drawing, I’m all for it – what good is one point after all?
Defence is god
In last months’ stats post I said Chelsea’s defence was king, but I was wrong – it’s been better than that. John Terry’s back four has only conceded 15 goals in all competitions so far this season – that’s less than one goal for every two hours of football. The record at Stamford Bridge is even better, with the side not conceding a single goal since Hunt put one past Cech back in August. Conceding just one goal in 11 games is astounding, but away form is a slightly different story…
Home and away
Chelsea’s home record reads like a dream: played 11, won 11. In a surprising reversal of last season however, Chelsea’s Achilles heel has become games away from Stamford Bridge. Winning 58% of all away games is far from a dismal record, but losing a quarter of them isn’t quite so impressive. The difference between goals conceded home and away is even more marked, with Chelsea shipping nine goals on their travels.
With that in mind, you would be forgiven for thinking that Chelsea’s defence has gone to pieces when playing away from home – but it’s a bit more complicated than that. Looking at the three defeats Chelsea have suffered this season, three different main causes can be identified in each instance. Whilst defensive errors did cost Chelsea the points against Aston Villa, the back four actually had a good game against City last weekend – the fixture was lost because the midfield couldn’t gain a foothold in the game. Against Wigan it was Cech’s red card and the subsequent penalty that warped the final result.
Far from disaster – still on track?
Some fans and sections of the media – not least the atrociously biased Joe Royle – painted Chelsea’s loss to Man City as being almost apocalyptic for Ancelotti’s title challenge. Yes, the performance was concerning, but in reality we’re nowhere near crisis point yet. Overall Ancelotti has a 78% win record and Chelsea are scoring three and a half more goals than they are conceding (with goals coming from 12 players). In November Chelsea beat the two main rivals for the title, Man Utd and Arsenal, and are still on course to finish the season with more than 90 points.
It says something that, over the course of a season already 23 games old, Chelsea’s most unproductive run comprises just two games – a draw (Blackburn winning on penalties doesn’t count) and a loss. Draw seven games in a row (a la Man City) or win once in nine (a la Liverpool) – now that would be a real crisis.
Paying the penalty
It said a lot about the team’s weaknesses last season (or the number of referees who should have gone to Specsavers) that Chelsea rarely won penalties. With Joe Cole injured, there wasn’t a player who would naturally run at defenders and draw a foul in box. How many did Robben win for us, or Ronaldo for United? This season, it’s been different. An on-song Drogba has been felled in the box to win four penalties this season already – more than the total number won last year. Now to get Anelka and Lampard into the box more frequently…
Check out the updated 09/10 Chelsea stats page – more detailed information has been added today.
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