‘Playing in mud’ – Joe Cole bemoans ‘painful’ Chelsea result, with Blues going backwards in Brentford defeat
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino
Joe Cole has criticised Chelsea for their disappointing performance in the 2-0 home loss to Brentford, with Mauricio Pochettino’s side looking like they’re ‘playing in mud’.
Pochettino came under scrutiny early in the season when Chelsea only picked up one win from their first six Premier League matches. Both results and performances have improved recently, as the Blues have beaten Fulham and Burnley, as well as drawn 2-2 with Arsenal.
However, Chelsea have once again slumped to another poor defeat, this time against Thomas Frank’s Brentford.
Chelsea dominated possession throughout the contest but lacked any real threat in the final third, which has been the case for most of the Pochettino era so far. Noni Madueke came closest for Chelsea when he struck the crossbar early in the first half.
But it was Brentford defender Ethan Pinnock who opened the scoring instead, heading home at the back post from a looping Bryan Mbeumo cross.
Chelsea pushed for an equaliser but could not find one, and when goalkeeper Robert Sanchez went up for a corner, the visitors caught him out on the counter. Sanchez chased Neal Maupay down but the substitute showed generosity to play in Mbeumo, who had a simple finish to ensure Brentford took home all three points.
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During an appearance on TNT Sports (28/10, at 14:37), formerly known as BT Sport, Cole heaped praise on Brentford before complaining about Chelsea’s display and explaining how they can get themselves back to winning ways.
“First of all, you have to give Brentford a lot of credit for what they’ve done today, the back five and the midfield were outstanding defensively,” the former England star said. “Thomas Frank, he’s done it again, he’s come to an away game and got the job done.
Chelsea result ‘a tough pill to swallow’
“From Chelsea’s perspective, it’s a real tough pill to swallow. That’s a painful one. I saw a lot of good signs the last four games and today, the doubts crept into the players’ minds, that’s what’s happened there. You can sense it when you come into the stadium.
“The fans are apprehensive, they don’t know what they’re gonna get, the players are apprehensive. Football becomes like you’re playing in mud, when you get that doubt, that worry and that concern. It’s very difficult to get out of that.
“They’re in it now, they’ve got to find a way. Pochettino, his coaching staff, the players, that man there Raheem Sterling, the senior players. It’s real tough to play football in conditions when they’re like this, but you’ve got to stick together as a group and find a way out of this.
“You can only do that through results and positive performances.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea have been told a Premier League star is ‘going nowhere’ in January, despite them pushing to land him.
