The moment Oliver Skipp's shot bounced down off the crossbar and into the Chelsea net, a feeling of resignation took hold among those in the away end. Almost 45 minutes remained of the contest at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but few truly expected a comeback from Graham Potter's side.
Those travelling Chelsea supporters were proved right, too. The Blues didn't muster a shot on target in the second period and when Harry Kane finished from close range to add a second for Spurs, many used it as the cue to depart the stadium. Once again, adversity had not been overcome.
Potter was prepared to take responsibility, and not just for the defeat to Chelsea's most bitter rivals. He acknowledged results over the past two months have not been acceptable and that he has little stock with supporters to lean on. "I haven’t done enough at this club to have too much good faith," the head coach said in his post-match press conference. "I accept that."
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The result has left Chelsea ensconced in 10th in the Premier League table. The Blues are 14 points off the Champions League places – a gap too big to overcome – but are more concerningly just 10 points off the bottom three. Few truly believe Chelsea could get relegated but, at this moment, it's difficult to see them collecting many more points.
An inability to score goals unpins that lack of belief. Chelsea have netted just six times in the top flight since the start of November; no team has scored fewer. And more damningly is January arrivals Enzo Fernandez, Noni Madueke, Mykhailo Mudryk and Joao Felix have been unable to stir the Blues out of their attacking malaise.
"As a team, we're not quite there in how we want it to look and function, and scoring goals is the difficult part of the game" explained Potter after yesterday's 2-0 defeat. "I have to try to focus on helping the team and supporting the players. I really like these players, they’re good lads. They want to do better and want to win. But at the moment we’re suffering and that is my responsibility."
Debate will continue in the coming days about Potter's position as head coach. He has thus far retained the support of the ownership group. It's a very different story with the Chelsea faithful, many of whom want Potter gone and have been left with a feeling of apathy toward the side after recent results.
There is a perceived lack of fight. An absence of leadership both on and off the pitch. That is reflected in Chelsea's ability to haul themselves back into games. There have been 12 occasions in all competitions this season that the Blues have conceded the first goal and only three times have Chelsea battled back to avoid defeat.
The first instance was at home to West Ham United in September, which proved Thomas Tuchel's final Premier League match as head coach. The second was Potter's first top-flight fixture in charge; a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace courtesy of a stoppage-time winner from Conor Gallagher.
And the third – and most recent – instance came in early November as Chelsea managed to secure a 2-1 victory over Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League group stage. Although there is a caveat that the game was a dead rubber with the Blues having already secured top spot in Group E.
Since that fixture, Chelsea have fallen behind nine times. They've not come back to win. Nor have they even secured a draw. It's why few supporters expected a fightback after Tottenham had forced themselves ahead in the early stages of the second half yesterday afternoon.
This fragility is not exclusively a Potter issue. Chelsea only claimed nine points after falling behind in 11 Premier League matches last term under Tuchel. The season prior it was 11 points from 14 instances under a combination of the German coach and Frank Lampard.
It's a somewhat harsh reality but until Chelsea become more obstinate in the face of defeat – Tuchel called it toughness back in August – they will not be able to make any significant progress in the Premier League. It may not be an issue all of Potter's making but it is one that has worsened during his tenure. It must be solved – and fast.
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