Paul Merson fears Chelsea face an uphill battle to qualify for the Champions League after Liam Rosenior’s side threw away a two-goal lead against Leeds United.
The Blues looked heading in the right direction to make up ground within the race to cement a top five position within the Premier League when Cole Palmer’s penalty doubled their lead at Stamford Bridge.
In-form Joao Pedro had set Rosenior’s side on their within the opening period but Chelsea undid all their good work in a crazy six minute spell after the break.
Lukas Nmecha’s spot kick drew Leeds back into the competition, before an almighty defensive mix-up saw Noah Okafor bundle home an equaliser that might well prove crucial in Leeds’ fight to beat the drop.
Chelsea did manage to fashion one gilt-edged probability to grab victory but Cole Palmer, unbelievably, fired over from almost underneath the crossbar.
That setback, coupled with Manchester United’s last-gasp equaliser against West Ham, represented a missed opportunity for Chelsea who now face a frightening run of fixtures.
Just as worryingly for Merson, the previous England international believes that for all of the sparking attacking play under Maresca, this current Chelsea side are still far too inexperienced and brittle when put under any semblance of pressure.
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He told Sky Sports: ‘Chelsea haven’t modified from when Maresca was there. They’ll’t put a 90 minute performance together. They were good first half, they were just like the Harlem Globe Trotters. Palmer, Santos, Ezno Fernandez, Perdro, the movement with Estevao.
‘Second half out again good then swiftly that happened. They haven’t got that have when it goes 2-1 after which 2-2 the subsequent quarter-hour were wasted.
‘They haven’t got anyone to grab the sport or tell the players to calm down and we’ll get one other probability. They got one and it fell to Palmer and side footed it over the bar it happens to the very best.
‘Chelsea have gotten some very, very difficult fixutres after the subsequent one. It’s going to be an actual big fight for them. If Chelsea can get within the Champions League positions after the run-in they’ve got I’ll hold by hands up and say fair play.’
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Rosenior, meanwhile, admitted it was a ‘bitter pill to swallow’ having been so accountable for what had been a one-sided contest.
‘Two key moments in the sport that we don’t handle,’ said Rosenior. ‘We don’t stay calm. How the play gets there, we make a couple of poor decisions in the best way we press and we give away a penalty.
‘I can’t remember Leeds having a shot or a moment in the sport. A few of our football in possession, our press and our energy was every little thing I desired to see. That makes it much more of a bitter pill to swallow that we haven’t won the sport.’
Leeds’ equaliser owed as much to Bogle’s tenacity in outmuscling Chelsea’s defence because it did to the Blues’ own hesitancy in coping with the danger, though Rosenior believed his team must have had a free-kick.
Chelsea’s upcoming fixtures
Hull City (A) – FA Cup – Friday, February 13
Burnley (H) – Premier League – Saturday, February 21
Arsenal (A) – Premier League – Sunday, March 1
Aston Villa (A) – Premier League – Wednesday, March 4
Newcastle United (H) – Premier League – Saturday, March 14
‘The lad handballs it,’ he said. ‘It affects my players in that moment, they think it’s a handball, they switch off, we don’t clear the ball and so they rating. Then for 25 minutes it was wave after wave of attack.’
Under Rosenior there have been encouraging signals of a more dynamic approach to possession that has made Chelsea more threatening, and here again the ball moved with urgency, particularly through midfield where his side always appeared to outnumber Leeds.
Ultimately, it counted for little as old frailties were over again delivered to the fore.
‘We’ve to make sure that we handle moments and be skilled,’ said Rosenior. ‘It’s not about reacting to setbacks. You’re at all times going to have a spell in they game if you’re not on top.
‘The ridiculous thing for us is that they’ve managed to attain two goals in a five-minute period when for the opposite 90 minute we were by far the higher team.’
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