Chelsea are out of form and under pressure - but here's why they can bounce back

Staying focused: Chelsea’s players try to put their troubles behind them in training
Simon Johnson16 September 2015

If there is one club in England capable of putting troubles at home behind them to triumph abroad, it is Chelsea.

Jose Mourinho may have some tough questions to answer from Roman Abramovich about the Blues’ poor start to their title defence but all will be forgotten, and forgiven, should he lead them to club football’s biggest prize.

As Chelsea begin their Champions League campaign against Maccabi Tel Aviv at Stamford Bridge tonight, Mourinho does not have to go too far back into the club’s history for inspiration.

Just three years ago, arguably the worst side of the Abramovich era lifted the European Cup for the first time.

There were many poor performances on the domestic front that season and the club also suffered the upheaval of Andre Villas-Boas being sacked as manager and then replaced by the inexperienced Roberto di Matteo.

Chelsea finished sixth in the table — below Newcastle — their lowest in a decade and yet they proved too strong for mighty Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Remarkably, they also claimed the FA Cup too.

It is not the first time they have bounced back in such fashion. In the next campaign, they suffered the humiliation of going out of the Champions League at the group stage but went on to win the Europa League under Rafael Benitez.

There are other examples, too. When Mourinho left Chelsea in September 2007, the club made history by going on to reach the Champions League Final for the first time.

Following the disastrous seven-month reign of Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink also led the side to the semi-finals in 2009, when only a late strike from Barcelona star Andres Iniesta denied them another place in the final. All the above had one thing in common, though, in that it took a change of coach to spark a stunning revival. Mourinho will obviously have to, and want to, do it himself.

It is an understatement to suggest that Chelsea look anything but Champions League contenders, let alone potential winners, at the moment.

Five things we learnt from Chelsea's defeat to Everton

1/5

Three defeats in just five League games have severely dented everyone’s confidence and Maccabi Tel Aviv are looking to take advantage.

There is a suspicion, though, that it is Europe’s premier club competition, rather than the Premier League, that has been Mourinho’s priority from the outset this season.

One of the reasons put forward for their sluggish start is Mourinho’s decision to begin pre-season training later than anyone else.

His explanation for it at the time centred on the players showing fatigue during their march to the title in May and he wanted them to be in shape to finish stronger this time.

However, sources suggest it is because he has lifting the Champions League on his mind.

“It would be easy now to say that,” Mourinho told Standard Sport on the eve of tonight’s match. “I would put myself in a good situation if I said we don’t care about the Premier League, we are losing points because it’s not important, we are only thinking about the Champions League. But it’s not true.”

Naturally, Mourinho will not be given carte blanche to treat one major competition with such disdain in order to gamble all the club’s hopes for the season in another.

Yet, having reached three Champions League semi-finals with Chelsea and winning it with Porto and Inter Milan, his motivation is clear.

Despite the turmoil, Chelsea have the talent and know-how to take on the continent’s finest.

They certainly have a better squad than the 2012 winners, as well as the one that Mourinho led to the last four just 17 months ago.

First things first, they must get through the group and start rebuilding their self-belief this evening against Maccabi Tel Aviv, who had to pre-qualify for the competition.

Former Watford manager and Chelsea midfielder Slavisa Jokanovic has prepared his side to use the same counter-attacking tactics that worked so well for Swansea and Crystal Palace recently.

Mourinho said: “To start well at home is important. I respect Maccabi. I watched them play many matches. I did my study. I know the team. We are also ready. We trust ourselves, but respect is a big thing in football.”

The time has certainly come for Chelsea to start earning some of theirs back.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in