Jermaine Jenas praised Chelsea’s Thiago Silva as a rare positive in the game against Southampton last night.
Unfortunately, the Blues continued their turbulent start to the new campaign on Tuesday evening by losing 2-1 away to Southampton in the Premier League.
Therefore, Thomas Tuchel’s side have recorded two wins, one draw and two defeats from their opening set of five league matches.
Despite Raheem Sterling’s opener at St Mary’s, Chelsea completely took their foot off the gas and opponents Southampton did their job by seizing the opportunity that was presented to them.
Jermaine Jenas praised Thiago Silva
BT Sport pundit Jenas did pick out Chelsea centre-back Silva, 37, as a rare positive during the Southampton loss.
In particular, the Brazilian defender made a remarkable goal-line clearance with an instinctive touch.
“He (Silva) was brilliant, I thought, today again for Chelsea,” Jenas told BT Sport 2 (9:55pm, 30 August).
“People talk about his age, but the guy clearly looks after himself and this is just years of experience (his block off the line).”
Rotation is unavoidable
Of course, Silva is a player you want in the Chelsea line-up every single game.
The experienced centre-half is one of the very few individuals in the Blues squad to actually perform consistently in the opening month of the season.
However, Tuchel won’t have a choice but to rotate the veteran defender at times looking ahead.
A very busy schedule is just around a corner with plenty of midweek games, so it seems like too much to expect Silva to play every single minute as he reaches his late-thirties.
In fairness, Chelsea’s boss did manage Silva’s minutes well during last season.
It’s a frightening thought how much weaker this already vulnerable Chelsea defence will look without him on the pitch.
Wesley Fofana’s official arrival today from Leicester City does at least help strengthen the backline options.
Keep up to date with all the latest Chelsea news and opinion by following The Chelsea Chronicle’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
