Chelsea slumped to yet another defeat in the Champions League yesterday night against Porto.
Having won the Premier League and the Capital One Cup earlier this year, even the most skeptical people would have expected Jose Mourinho to build on his success from last season.
However, it hasn’t quite gone according to plan for Jose Mourinho and Chelsea.
The Premier League champions are 14th in the league table, with just 8 points from 7 games and have lost one of their two Champions League games so far.
Apart from the on-pitch struggles, Mourinho seems to be suffering from the enormous pressure from the media and fans. The Portuguese’ infamous bust up with club doctor Eva Carneiro, resulted in him being reported for sexist abuse.
Furthermore, his constant digs at Arsene Wenger haven’t helped him with the media, especially now that he is struggling to win himself.
With more and more pressure mounting on Jose Mourinho, we look at how he can turn it around and survive the sack.
Tactical Flexibility
Jose Mourinho is not one who abandons his system after a few setbacks. But the Portuguese needs to alter his tactics in order to kick start Chelsea’s season.
His full back has struggled in a back four, the central midfield has been crying out for cover and the attackers look isolated due to lack of service/creativity.
All that can be fixed to a certain extent if Mourinho switches to a back three.
In a 3-4-1-2, the likes of Ivanovic/Zouma will have a lot of defensive protection from the other two centre backs and the deep lying wide midfielders.
Furthermore, the likes of Zouma can step up into the midfield to support Matic, providing more protection.
Also, Eden Hazard would benefit from operating in a central role behind two strikers (Costa-Falcao/Remy). The Belgian is lacking in confidence and has struggled to take on players. Playing him centrally will ensure he sees more of the ball and will allow him to keep it simple and effective.
Furthermore, his agility and intelligence will come in handy in behind the goalscorer.
The likes of Pedro, Kenedy, Willian, Baba Rahman etc are all capable of operating as the wide players and have the work rate to contribute at both ends of the pitch.
Although this is not a long term fix, it will make Chelsea a more compact unit for now.
Proper Team Selection
Mourinho needs to start picking the side on merit. Serbian defender, Branislav Ivanovic has been abysmal since the start of the season and yet he seems to have a guaranteed starting berth.
The out of form defender captained his side in the North London Derby earlier this month.
The likes of Baba Rahman and John Terry need to be brought back into the squad.
It is always commendable to stick with your players in bad times, but Mourinho is trying to fix something that clearly is not going to be fixed anytime soon. Ivanovic seems past his peak and the only way to fix it is, upgrade him.
Choose his words wisely
Jose Mourinho is making life difficult for himself with his pressers. A man in his position needs to choose his words wisely and Mourinho is doing anything but that.
It is always nice to have a manager who criticizes your rivals and likes to rub it in, but in this instance, Jose Mourinho has picked the wrong time to have a go at Wenger.
Furthermore, the Portuguese needs to control his emotions and stay focused at the job on hand. His outburst against Eva Carneiro has already landed him in hot water and the Chelsea manager could end up charged for sexist abuse.
To sum it up, Jose needs to relax.
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