Don’t blame youth and inexperience for Chelsea’s two soft goals conceded

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Don’t blame youth and inexperience for Chelsea’s two soft goals conceded

Last night’s draw was a painful one for Chelsea and their fans.

The Blues went 2-0 up and played some of the best football they’ve played all season. Yet by full time it was 2-2. They had done so well, yet let it all slip with some really naive and hesitant defending, and a lack of confidence once Leeds had pulled their first goal back.

Chelsea hesitant but not inexperienced​

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Josh Acheampong battles for possession against Leeds. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

It’s easy to blame that on a lack of experience in the team, especially in the defence. And many have done just that. But Simon Johnson, who covers the club for the Athletic, says it’s time to drop that argument.

He points out that the mistake for Leeds’ first goal – giving away a penalty needlessly – came from Moises Caicedo. He’s 24 years old, has played 131 games for Chelsea, 53 for Brighton, and has 58 Ecuador caps. He cost £115m. Inexperienced? Hardly.

On the second goal, while inexperience might have contributed to Josh Acheampong’s initial error, there were countless chances for more experienced players to clear it after that. Malo Gusto, Trevoh Chalobah, Robert Sanchez, Caicedo again… there were six Chelsea players around the ball, and none of them got it clear.

That’s not inexperience, that’s “not doing the basics”, and perhaps a lack of defensive leadership from someone who’s not afraid to put the ball into the stands.

In other news…​

Speaking after the game, Joao Pedro was really frustrated by the dropped points. He did his part, scoring a goal and assisting another, but in the end the team couldn’t hold on to that two goal lead.

More bad news from the game came on the subject of Marc Cucurella. The defender hurt his hamstring, and right now we’re just hoping it’s not too serious. Rosenior gave his update, which you can see here.

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