‘If you don’t prepare right, you will pay’ – fears rise over Chelsea form

Chelsea may have reached the Europa Conference League semifinals, but the cheers that followed Legia Warsaw’s surprise defeat summed up the current dissension at Stamford Bridge.

The tie’s outcome was largely determined by the Polish side’s 2-1 defeat at home, which gave the Blues a 4-2 aggregate victory over Djurgarden.

The faithful in the stands were enraged by the players’ failure to rise up in response to manager Enzo Maresca’s pre-game challenge to “engage” the fans, but how they succumbed to defeat, despite a formidable starting lineup.

Reece James appeared to question the team’s preparation for a match that was settled by Steve Kapuadi’s 53rd-minute winner after Tomas Pekhart’s penalty opener was cancelled out by Blues left-back Marc Cucurella, prompting him to address the incident and admit it was a “poor performance.”

We had a 3-0 lead, James, 25, James, 25; perhaps that contributed to that. “We are making progress, but that is not progress,” the statement read. It was a step back, in my opinion.

Maybe we harmed the competition. You will pay if you don’t prepare properly.

“The mindset will be affected by it. It will remain hidden in people’s minds forever. I get it, but I’m frustrated. Fans can see the excitement, but we were irritable to watch it.

Boss Maresca felt that Chelsea, as they attempted to deal with increased pressure in the climax of the season, “probably” did not respect Legia enough rather than the competition.

In their quest for a top-five Premier League spot on Sunday, the Italian’s side face a west London derby at Fulham. “I didn’t see any bad moments from the fans,” said the Italian. After the final game, I already said that we needed to engage them, so that’s what we needed to do.

Chelsea has eight league games to go without worryingly winning, which comes back to a thrilling 4-3 victory over Tottenham on December 8th.

Although they were unbeaten in eight home games before being defeated by Legia, the performances have not been enough to acquaint supporters who demanded and demanded better from their expensively assembled squad and raft of internationals.

They are now sixth in the table, meaning they have a difficult task of reaching the Champions League next season, after recent results, including a goalless draw at Brentford and a 2-2 home draw against relegation-threatened Ipswich.

Newcastle are now in third place, while Manchester City are one point clear of Chelsea in fifth and Aston Villa in seventh, but Maresca’s men share 54 points.

The various goal droughts occurring simultaneously among the attacking players in all competitions are another cause of concern for Chelsea:

Before scoring against Ipswich last Sunday, Jadon Sancho was also having a four-game goal drought.

Palmer and Jackson, who have both had injuries, were initially given the idea to improve their physical condition, but Maresca said he wanted to give them a “boost” if they could score.

Chelsea struggled up front, highlighting the fact that Spanish left-back Cucurella has scored six goals since December 15.

We are missing very simple objectives, Maresca remarked. We only had two chances in the opening five minutes, but it is possible. Because they are so crucial to us, we can hopefully start to score goals very soon.