Former Chelsea player Ruud Gullit has branded the Blues’ tactics in their 1-0 loss to Manchester City on Sunday “terrible to watch”.
Writing in the BBC, Gullit said it was inexplicable that manager Antonio Conte did not attempt to change things around when it was clear that the gameplan wasn’t working.
“Conte’s side showed hardly any attacking intent at Etihad Stadium – instead they were just hoping for a City mistake to let them in on a counter-attack, or hoping for someone to produce a moment of genius in front of goal.
“That is all they had – hope. They never looked like actually making anything happen and I was really disappointed with their performance.
“In my opinion, Chelsea had to at least have a go. If you do that then, if you lose, you do it with your head up high.
Conte did nothing, though. And, as much as I love Chelsea, their defeat was exactly what they deserved.”
Gullit’s criticism echoed those of Sky Sports‘ Jamie Redknapp and Gary Neville, with Redknapp blasting Chelsea’s performance as “a crime against football.”
“That was anti-football, it was a crime against football,” Redknapp said.
“City have lost one game this season against Liverpool, who played with energy, they got after them, they pressed them high and won the ball in the final third.
“Don’t tell me the front three of Chelsea isn’t as good as Liverpool’s? There’s not too much to choose between the two.
“The Chelsea front three will be thinking ‘I’m better than that’ – players will then start talking about the tactics.”
Conte’s tactics and motivation have come under criticism.
Neville believes Conte will get sacked at the end of this season, especially if Chelsea fail to progress in the Champions League, where they currently face a precarious second leg in Barcelona having drawn 1-1 at home in the first leg.
“I think Chelsea have given us an unacceptable 90 minutes there. It was awful,” said Neville of the loss to City.
“Even the Manchester City fans inside the stadium wouldn’t have liked that match. They’ll be going home thinking Chelsea were terrible – it was a stroll.
“The Chelsea hierarchy have been clinical and brutal in the past – the second season for Chelsea managers are notoriously difficult after they’ve won a league. What we’re starting to see is typical Chelsea.
“If they get knocked out of the Champions League then you could see this ending quite quickly for Antonio Conte, who has done a brilliant job at the club.”
