Paul Merson rips into ‘very slow’ Chelsea after 1-0 defeat against Wolves

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Paul Merson was seriously unimpressed by Chelsea’s performance on Saturday afternoon against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Blues suffered a 1-0 defeat at Wolves earlier today, which means they’ve now gone three consecutive games without scoring.

It was yet another disappointing effort from Chelsea in the Premier League, so they remain 11th in the table to illustrate what a tough domestic campaign it’s been so far.

Frank Lampard didn’t get his dream story on his return to the club. Instead, the caretaker manager will have learned he’s walked into work with a squad very low on confidence right now.

Sky Sports pundit Merson was very critical of Chelsea for their weekend display. In fairness, we won’t argue with him because the team managed one shot on target, which was an effort outside of the box from Joao Felix.

Merson further added that the Blues could be in very big trouble going into next week’s Champions League tie with Real Madrid.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ News channel (5:25pm, 8 April), Merson said: “There was no urgency. They never went out and moved the ball quickly. It was very slow. For about 15 minutes in the second half, they really moved it quickly, and they were going through Wolves without making any chances…

“My only benefit of the doubt is they’re waiting for Wednesday night. That is the only thing I can think of. If they turn up like that on Wednesday night it will be pointless going to the second leg. It could be a cricket score.”

Chelsea visit the Bernabeu next Wednesday night for the first leg of a Champions League quarter-final tie.

The Blues were already big underdogs to overcome Real Madrid when the European draw was made, but the recent domestic form only adds to the gap between the two teams.

If you’re looking for any positive, Lampard confirmed N’Golo Kante was only missing against Wolves because he decided to rest him. We’re going to need the prime Kante to stand any chance, which is unfair to ask given his long-term injury layout.

A lot of Chelsea players wasted the opportunity today to send out a real marker before the Champions League showdown.