Former football player Gary Neville criticized Chelsea's three-man defense for not playing reliably in the 1-2 loss to Arsenal in round 3 of the Premier League.
In the London derby on September 6, Chelsea opened the score after just 77 seconds thanks to Morgan Rogers, but still left empty-handed. They have not been able to keep a clean sheet in their last 19 matches in the Premier League and have conceded seven times through the first three rounds of this season.
"When watching Chelsea's three-man defense, I feel like their legs are not connected to their hips, and their hips are not connected to their body. Everything seems quite disjointed and confused," Neville commented on the Gary Neville podcast.
The former British player took the famous three-man defense of Juventus and the Italian team including Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini as an ideal model. "That was probably the best three-man defense I've ever seen," he said. "They work together as a unit, know how to choose their positions, are strong in the air, know when to go high and when to drop deep. They also organize the players in front well."
Against Arsenal, Chelsea used three central defenders: Maxence Lacroix, Wesley Fofana, Josh Acheampong and only had one option on the bench, Levi Colwill. Neville believes that Chelsea must add personnel to their defense in the next year or two under Xabi Alonso if they want to reach new heights. "Alonso has done a lot, but what he needs now is to build a solid three-man defense. Currently, they haven't created that feeling and everything is still a bit confusing. This is the main problem right now," the former Man Utd defender expressed.
However, Neville appreciates Chelsea's remaining positions, especially wingers Pedro Neto and Jorrel Hato. The 51-year-old former player believes that the London team has a quality midfield and attack, as long as the pillars maintain good physical condition. Therefore, he believes Chelsea can at least finish third and even compete for second place based on what the team has shown since the beginning of the season under Alonso.
"I think they can finish second. Third is the lowest position I think Chelsea can finish the season," Neville said. "That's very positive. I'm more optimistic about Chelsea than at any time in the past three, four or five years, because I think they're going in the right direction. Things aren't perfect, and Chelsea wasn't expected to win against Arsenal. But I think they performed the best they could in this match."
Alonso himself also admitted that defense is an issue that Chelsea needs to improve soon. According to the Spanish coach, the home team must play more tightly, balanced and effectively if they want to win, but he believes that these changes take time, because he has only been on the job since May. "My priority is to win matches. Normally, you will win when you don't concede many goals," he said.
The 44-year-old coach affirmed that Chelsea was not too far behind Arsenal and regretted that the team could not take advantage of the opportunity to increase the score to 2-1. Alonso emphasized that Chelsea does not advocate passive defense but wants to proactively press and control the game, and reminded that these are just the first matches of the season. Therefore, Alonso appreciates the attitude and efforts of the players, although admitting that the team still has many things to improve to achieve performance at the highest level.
Regarding personnel issues, Alonso said that Moises Caicedo missed the match against Arsenal because he had not yet recovered from the injury he suffered in the 4-3 win over Brighton in round 2. According to Alonso, the central midfielder did not have a long-term problem, but was forced to return to play too early, after he missed most of the pre-season.
