Chelsea’s Champions League chances hit a roadblock at the Merseyside

Chelsea Football Club are in a mess and it’s one of their own making. 2012 was supposed to (ironically) be a new beginning for the club, as after six months under Andre Villas-Boas, the team was expected to gel and display its worth by delivering performances of the necessary standard.

Instead, what the fans are paying to watch is a bunch of dithering individuals who seem to have forgotten how to create, defend and score goals. Chelsea do not normally enjoy the trip to Goodison Park, and it showed, as a spirited and resolute Everton team defended well and took their chances, putting The Pensioners to the sword.

Chelsea lined up in their now oh-so familiar 4-3-3 formation, with Frank Lampard , Raul Meireles and Michael Essien completing a midfield three, and Juan Mata and Danny Sturridge supporting Fernando Torres upfront. Ashley Cole was also back in the first team after serving his one-match suspension, and replaced the shaky Gary Cahill. As for The Toffees, Landon Donovan and Steven Pienaar were expected to provide the ammunition for the Argentine Dennis Stracqualursi. And they didn’t disappoint, as the trio were involved in both the goals.

First, it was Everton’s prodigal son who got onto the scoresheet. Lampard failed to clear a loose ball convincingly, and it fell, somewhat kindly, into the path of the on-rushing Pienaar who made no mistake. The South African was the quickest to react to the situation, ahead of the nearest Chelsea defender Jose Bosingwa further highlighting how poor a defender the Portuguese actually is.

The second goal was the result of a smart run by Stracqualursi, who finished well after latching on to a brilliant pass from Donovan. To add to Chelsea’s woes, Cole was injured in the buildup to the goal after a crunching tackle by Phil Neville.

This was, by a good mile, Chelsea’s worst performance of the season. Outplayed by the opposing team in each and every department, it was, quite frankly, infuriating to watch this team take the field. Most of the blame, however, should be attached to the midfield.

Can Essien Still Be Called 'The Bison'?

Raul Meireles, as always, was nothing more than a stationary ball carrier, frequently and unnecessarily giving the ball away. Lampard was tediously slow and uninventive throughout and missed Chelsea’s only real chance of note in the game, his low shot skimming wide of Tim Howard’s left hand post. Essien or The Bison, if one could still call him that, was desperately poor as well.

Petr Cech seemed like he didn’t want to be there at all, one particular stray pass straight into the feet of an Everton player during the first half typifying Chelsea’s quite pathetic performance. And as for Torres, the Spaniard may now look forward to warming the bench again, with an in-form Didier Drogba all set to return from the African Cup of Nations.

Credit, though, must be given to Everton, as a combination of solid defending, clinical finishing and excessive pressing off the ball was enough to secure the win. It could be so much better for them, though, if David Moyes showed such ambition and positivity during the course of the entire campaign. More money in order to secure the players he wants would be an added bonus.

Although the points table suggests that Chelsea are still in with a more than a decent chance of securing that coveted fourth spot, their team play indicates otherwise. And though the players should be given the good, old-fashioned hair-dryer treatment along with a kick up their backsides by the gaffer for showing up for the game with such a negative attitude, AVB has to take a substantial portion of the blame as well.

Should Meireles Play A More Attacking Role?

It is quite difficult, at least right now, to see why the Portuguese is considered to be such a capable tactician and shrewd reader of the game. He barely ever tinkers with the formation, and the fact that he refuses to play Juan Mata in a more central role, is just bizarre. Something has to change, and fast, otherwise a sound thrashing awaits The Blues in Naples in less than two weeks time.

It is one thing to go up against Donovan, Pienaar, and Stracqualursi, and another to defend against the fearsome threesome of Lavezzi, Hamsik and Cavani. Beware, Andre, Roman’s watching.

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