Joe Cole picks out one Chelsea star he truly believes put in an 'uncomfortable' display in the Southampton loss as Thomas Tuchel questioned.
The Blues suffered their second loss of the season in their first five games as the Saints followed on from their valiant effort against Man United at the weekend, but this around, they collected maximum points at home, unlike in game week 4. Chelsea were heavy favourites going into this clash after their battling 2-1 home victory against Leicester, but a lacklustre performance in the attack meant that Raheem Sterling was the only shining light from the frontline.
READ MORE: Chelsea press conference LIVE: Thomas Tuchel on Southampton, transfers, Gvardiol, Havertz, more
All of Mount, Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic were passengers in the latest game to demonstrate the need for more attacking reinforcements amid links and talks to Wilfried Zaha, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Neymar, respectively.
But one man stood out in the wrong way for former Blues midfielder Joe Cole, and that was Havertz, who now, after five games, has no goal contributions to his name.
"They had no answer to Southampton's energy. Armstrong, Bella-Kotchap and Lavia were all fantastic, but from a Chelsea perspective, he started the game with a back four, which is a step aside from what they are used to doing, but for the first 20 minutes, they looked a bit off it," Joe Cole analysed post-match on BT Sport 2.
"There was no cohesion in the passing, Kai Havertz did not look comfortable in his role, Thomas Tuchel is going to have a lot of questions to answer on that journey back up to Stamford Bridge, the transfer window shuts on Thursday, and there is going to be a lot of comings and goings at Chelsea. It was a poorer performance I have seen from a Chelsea team under Tuchel, he certainly won't be happy. I didn't think Chelsea could have scored in the second half at all."
football.london player rating reflected Cole's words on Havertz. It read: 'The German forward had some clever touches and flicks but did not provide a regular enough threat as Chelsea struggled to find their way to Southampton's goal. 5.'
Attention will now turn to the remainder of the transfer market for solutions, and with the Aubameyang move labelled as 'almost done' by the Spanish press, the 23-year-old could be about to spend some time on the sideline as Tuchel now has to go back to the 'drawing board'. A phrase Cole brought on in his post-match analysis also. His punditry companion Jermaine Jenas believes the Champions League-winning manager will be baffled with the start to the season.
He said: "I think Thomas Tuchel will be baffled. He has watched his team now play really well against Spurs, go away to Leeds and not be at it, and then turn up today and again, not really be at the races. In that second half, whatever you are searching for in your players to go and win the game, it just wasn't there."
Chelsea fans- what is going wrong at the early stage of this season? Is it Thomas Tuchel's fault, the players or a mix of both and what do you make of Kai Havertz's form to date? Leave all your thoughts to these questions in the comments section below!
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