Luiz Felipe Scolari is at a loss to explain Chelsea’s dismal home form and fears that if it does not improve they can forget about winning the English Premier League title.
The Blues have claimed victory in just three of their nine home league games this season, while winning all eight of their matches on the road.
Chelsea manager Scolari is mystified as to why his side are finding it so hard to conquer opponents at Stamford Bridge, where they have won just two of their last seven games.
PHOTO: AFP
“It’s difficult to explain what’s happened. I am frustrated,” the Blues boss said. “It’s important for us to win at home, but now we’re playing better away than at home and I need to change this idea.”
“We need to win two or three games here and after this, maybe we’ll play the same as in the last five or 10 years,” said Scolari, who in October saw Chelsea surrender their 86-match unbeaten home league record with a 1-0 loss to current table-toppers Liverpool. “But now all the teams come to Stamford Bridge and play back with 10 players within 40m. There is no space for my players and sometimes my players need to improve and dribble, try something different.”
“At this time, it’s difficult for us,” Scolari said. “Sometimes we don’t have the quality to beat the other club and we need to accept that.”
Chelsea blew their chance to overtake Liverpool at the top of the table on Sunday.
The Blues drew 1-1 at Stamford Bridge with West Ham United, managed by Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola, in a fiercely-contested London derby.
Wales striker Craig Bellamy gave the visitors a 33rd-minute lead with a well-taken strike, but France forward Nicolas Anelka rescued a point for Chelsea six minutes after halftime with his 100th Premier League goal.
The result left Chelsea in second place, one point behind Liverpool, while West Ham are 16th in the table, a point above the relegation zone.
“If we draw or lose, but play well I am not frustrated, but in the first half we did not play well,” Scolari said.
The 60-year-old former Portugal manager, who guided his native Brazil to victory in the 2002 World Cup, said Chelsea were passing the ball around the midfield, but failing to create chances in front of goal.
“After our goal we tried to pressure and open the midfield and play with three strikers. But the strikers are in a line,” Scolari said. “I need to train them more and the players need to understand that three players can play in attack — but not be fixed there. They need to come back and work without the ball.”
Chelsea went into the Hammers match having beaten Romania’s CFR Cluj 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday to reach the last 16 of the Champions League.
Zola said he thought the strains of playing European soccer were taking their toll on England’s “big four” clubs, who have all progressed from the Champions League group stage.
“When you play a Champions League match, it’s very demanding, it drains you,” the Sardinian said after a weekend where the “big four” all drew in the Premier League. “We took advantage of that, but it won’t be easy for anybody to come here and pick up points. I don’t think it’s only at Chelsea. It seems to me that also Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal are all dropping points and they are all teams that are playing in the Champions League. Also, the small teams are getting more organised, they are playing more tactically and making it more difficult for the big teams to beat them.”
Zola scored 80 goals in 312 games between 1996 and 2003 for Chelsea, winning the European Cup Winners’ Cup, the European Super Cup, two FA Cups and a League Cup in the process.
The former Italy striker, on his return to Stamford Bridge, was given a hero’s welcome by the home crowd.
He said Sunday’s draw would help boost morale at Upton Park in the Hammers’ bid to pull away from the relegation zone.
“This performance will help build up our confidence again,” he said. “Maybe this time when we play at home we’re going to have a little bit more confidence, more freedom and less pressure.”
English Premier League
Team | P | GD | PTS | |
1 | Liverpool | 17 | 15 | 38 |
2 | Chelsea | 17 | 29 | 37 |
3 | Man Utd | 16 | 17 | 32 |
4 | Aston Villa | 17 | 9 | 31 |
5 | Arsenal | 17 | 9 | 30 |
6 | Hull | 17 | -1 | 27 |
7 | Everton | 17 | -2 | 25 |
8 | Portsmouth | 17 | -7 | 23 |
9 | Wigan | 17 | 1 | 22 |
10 | Fulham | 16 | 1 | 21 |
11 | Bolton | 17 | -3 | 20 |
12 | Middlesbrough | 17 | -7 | 20 |
13 | Stoke | 17 | -10 | 20 |
14 | Newcastle | 17 | -2 | 19 |
15 | Tottenham | 17 | -2 | 19 |
16 | West Ham | 17 | -7 | 19 |
17 | Man City | 17 | 5 | 18 |
18 | Sunderland | 17 | -8 | 18 |
19 | Blackburn | 17 | -17 | 13 |
20 | West Brom | 17 | -20 | 12 |
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two