Calum McFarlane was unable to build on his first win as Chelsea interim manager against Leeds United after losing to Nottingham Forest on Monday.
Despite making wholesale changes ahead of the second leg of their Europa League semi-final tie versus Aston Villa, Forest were still able to beat Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge.
Understandably, McFarlane now wants to review the game and address a specific issue with the team.
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Calum McFarlane determined to address Chelsea’s slow start to games
It took just two minutes for Forest to score after Taiwo Awoniyi was able to head past Robert Sanchez.
After the full-time whistle, McFarlane discussed Chelsea’s slow start to matches and said it is something that he is going to look into.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the Chelsea interim boss said: “It is hard to say why [the team is struggling early on]. I would like to review the game. But it is something we need to look at — it is such a stark contrast to how we defended against Leeds to the first 15 minutes. Definitely something we are going to look at.”
The Blues did not concede to Leeds in the FA Cup, but in their Premier League game before that, they allowed Brighton & Hove Albion to put three past them.
Just like in their defeat to Forest, Chelsea were breached early on following Ferdi Kadioglu’s third-minute goal.
They were at least able to score on Monday, ending a run of five consecutive matches without finding the back of the net in the English top flight.
In stoppage time, Joao Pedro scored an excellent bicycle kick and was one of few positives from the loss.
After a bright season in west London, Pedro is now attracting interest from Barcelona, who will surely appeal to him if things do not improve at Stamford Bridge.
The Brazilian has scored 15 goals in the Premier League this term and 20 goals in all competitions. Right now, he looks too good to be at Chelsea.
Barcelona are also thought to be interested in Marc Cucurella, who came through the club’s academy. The defender is approaching the final two years of his contract, giving Barcelona hope of re-signing their former player. Chelsea will not want to risk losing the left-back on a free transfer.
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