Former Premier League manager Alan Pardew has been speaking about Chelsea following their 2-2 draw with Sheffield United yesterday.
It really was a game that Chelsea should have won, with Mauricio Pochettino‘s men leading in stoppage time thanks to Noni Madueke.
The winger scored an excellent goal to put the Blues 2-1 up on the day.
However, his strike was cancelled out by Oli McBurnie after the Sheffield United striker netted in the 93rd minute to secure his side a point.
After the game, Madueke claimed that the Chelsea dressing room was silent.
Alan Pardew shares his major concern about Chelsea
While Chelsea are ninth in the Premier League table, Alan Pardew does not think their attack is too bad.
Cole Palmer is actually one of the highest goalscorers in the top flight this season, netting 16 times.
Rather, for Pardew, where the problem lies is at the back.
Speaking about Chelsea’s defence on talkSPORT, the former Newcastle United manager said: “It’s just the back four that worry me a little bit with Chelsea. I think going forward, you’re OK. I wouldn’t say you’re brilliant, but the back four is the concern if you’re going to have any kind of consistency.
“It’s amazing when you think about, and I’ve got a lot of friends who are Chelsea fans, the history of the Champions League and the Premier League titles and [Jose] Mourinho and all that history weren’t that long ago. And now you’ve spent all this money and you look like your best bet for the season is going to be Europa Conference League. I mean, it’s a bit of a worry.”
How bad have Chelsea’s defence been this season?
A lot has been said about Pochettino not having a centre-forward who can score consistently for his side.
However, defence really does look to be Chelsea’s biggest problem right now.
In 30 Premier League games, the Blues have already conceded 52 goals. With a record like that, it is no surprise that they are nowhere near the Champions League spots.
Qualifying for the Europa League is not impossible, but they are going to have to improve at the back swiftly to have any chance of doing that.