5 Things We Learned From Chelsea’s Defeat To Nottingham Forest

Nobody really saw Chelsea’s loss to Nottingham Forest coming, with performances having picked up under manager Mauricio Pochettino recently.

However, finishing let the Blues down once again at the weekend, and it’s fair that it may take longer than some would hope for this young team to gel together.

After just four games, Chelsea are already eight points adrift of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.

Press the next page as we look at what we learned from the defeat to Forest on Saturday.

1) Not a good day at the office for Silva

The Brazilian received a lot of the criticism after the game on Saturday, which was rather unfair considering how consistent he has been since arriving at Chelsea three years ago.

However, there is no getting away from the fact that it was a below-par performance from Silva, and his actions contributed to the Blues conceding.

The 38-year-old was nutmegged by Taiwo Awoniyi when he unwisely decided to step out of the backline, before Anthony Elanga scored the winner.

It is not the only time this campaign that Silva has not been at his best and Pochettino will want to see more from him.

2) Chelsea’s finishing woes continue

After the match, Pochettino insisted it wasn’t a bad display from his team and that is borne out in the numbers.

Chelsea produced an xG of 2.13 from 21 shots, compared to Forest’s 0.71, which would suggest that the home side were unlucky to lose.

However, the Blues’ shot accuracy was appalling. They hit the target just twice during the whole game, compared to their opponent’s three.

The most egregious miss was, of course, Nicolas Jackson’s sitter after being teed up by Raheem Sterling from a neat cutback.

3) Colwill needs to be shifted in field

The defender is an outstanding passer of the ball but he is very limited in terms of what he can do from his current position.

Pochettino has effectively asked Colwill to play as a left-back out of possession and he clearly looks uncomfortable when asked to play there.

Going back to a traditional back four, with Colwill taking up a position beside Silva, may get more out of the 20-year-old.

Without the ball, he would be playing in more central areas, which he is more accustomed to, and in possession he can use his passing to deliver line-breaking balls through the middle of the pitch.

4) Doubts over Sanchez remain

Forest had three shots on target and one of them went in, which means Sanchez’s save percentage now stands at 63.6%.

To be fair to the Spanish international, he didn’t have much of a chance with Elanga’s goal, but he did go down in slow motion as the ball was slotted past him.

On top of that, there was yet another moment when he gave the ball away in a dangerous area.

As some have asked, if he isn’t a great passer or much of a shot-stopper, what have Chelsea bought for £25m?

5) Palmer makes a bright start

One of the few positives to come out of the loss at the weekend was the Chelsea’s debutant’s performance after coming off the bench.

Palmer delivered a great through ball for Raheem Sterling, who set up Jackson for his gilt-edged opportunity in the second half.

It will be interesting to see how Pochettino decides to integrate Palmer into the starting eleven.

The England Under 21 international can play either as a no.10 or a winger so we shall see where he lines up if he gets his opportunity against Bournemouth after the international break.