Chelsea 1-1 vs. Newcastle: It’s all about confidence – or lack thereof - for Chelsea
Chelsea is facing a tough time in the English Premier League. Their superiority is seriously being threatened and their title contention is in danger of being overturned. One victory in the last four matches – and a recent 1-1
draw against Newcastle United - is very unlike Chelsea, who had dominated the league in the beginning of this season.
Chelsea’s fall from grace started with their loss against Liverpool. Fernando Torres scored a brace, and on the other hand, Chelsea failed to score in the match. However, the Blues won their next match against Fulham, but it was
a poor performance as Chelsea scored only one goal at Stamford Bridge. The poor run continued and Chelsea was thrashed by Sunderland at Stamford Bridge, followed by another loss at St Andrew’s, against Birmingham City.
The real problem for Chelsea is that the goals are not coming. Chelsea scored a lot of goals in the beginning, as Florent Malouda, Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou were all in prime form. However, in the recent weeks, goal-scoring
has become a problem as the Blues have found the net only once in the four mentioned matches. This problem was also pointed out by Carlo Ancelotti, the boss of Chelsea, who seemed really worried about the team’s poor form.
In the beginning, it was the complacency of the players that let them down. The squad was self-satisfied when it seemed that they would not face much trouble in defending their English Premier League title. However, the result
against a struggling Liverpool side was a big blow to the confidence of Chelsea players.
Now, the players have been under-confident, which has made it impossible for them to score goals. Injuries to some key players has further shaken that confidence. It was that lack of confidence that led to two more defeats, against
Sunderland and Birmingham. Where Chelsea once ruled atop the Premier League table, they have now been dethroned by a resurgent Manchester United. At this point, they look like the most vulnerable side in the English Premier League.
Other teams have seen the vulnerability of Chelsea, who have lost against some weaker sides. This would make life difficult for Chelsea, because the smaller teams would have gained confidence. In the beginning, when Chelsea was
scoring a lot, the smaller teams felt that the Blues were unstoppable, thus losing the match (because of that defeatist attitude) even before it started. In the future, unlike the previous matches, the opposition would feel that they can get results against
Chelsea, creating problems for the Blues.
There is no doubt that confidence plays an important part in a team’s victory. If a team is not confident of its success, it would be impossible to get results in any situation. On the other hand, if a team is over-confident, and
underestimates the opposition, they also suffer in their matches. If these things did not matter, Hercules would have never won a match against a side like Barcelona at Camp Nou. Hercules was confident of its strength while Barcelona neglected that strength,
resulting in a real shock result in the end.
Carlo Ancelotti pointed out the problems of confidence and self-belief in his interview to the press, but said that the team would be boosted after some of their players return to action. The other clubs would be full of confidence
against Chelsea, so the Blues would face tough opposition in the remaining part of their season. Ancelotti has pointed out the problems, but now he has to work hard in order to find solutions. It would not be easy, but it is an important part of Ancelotti’s
job as the manager. The players listen to their managers, so it would be very important that Ancelotti reassures his players of their strengths and abilities.
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