Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has suggested that their form is down to “complacency” rather than them being “off the boil”.
Chelsea made an unbeaten start to the 2021/22 season before they suffered consecutive defeats against Man City and Juventus in September.
They recovered from these losses but they have now only won two of their last five games across all competitions.
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The Blues have dropped points against Manchester United and West Ham in recent weeks.
Chelsea recovered over the weekend as they netted a late winner against Leeds United at Stamford Bridge.
Thomas Tuchel’s side are back in action on Wednesday night as they face Rafael Benitez’s Everton.
The Londoners are now third in the Premier League. They have a game in hand over Man City but they are five points adrift of the leaders.
Hasselbaink has told Sky Sports that Chelsea are not “going off the boil”:
“We’re talking about them having a blip, but actually, they have been doing so well, absolutely magnificently, that people are looking at them conceding a few goals and a few things going against them like the West Ham game, and thinking there is something wrong. It happens.
“Yes, they have conceded a few more goals than normal, and it might be that certain individuals might not be as focused as they were because it was getting a little too easy – so they might have to reset themselves on that front to put that right.
“It’s more complacency than going off the boil. Not putting in 100 per cent, putting in 90 per cent – and 10 per cent is a lot in the Premier League. So looking at the West Ham game, they were winning and cruising; normally they don’t look back, the opposition don’t come back. So there must be some kind of complacency involved.”
Hasselbaink has also spoken on Romelu Lukaku’s start to the 2021/22 season:
“The price tag makes everybody think there is no room for error, and no room for failure. I’m telling you now, whatever you pay for a striker, if it is £200m, he is going to fail in certain matches. He is going to miss chances. He will have a period where he is not feeling the best or playing the best.
“Look at Harry Kane. For whatever reason, he is not having the best season. Would you want him in your team? Every day of the week. You know what he can do, and it’s the same with Lukaku. The reason I’m saying that is because he has done that everywhere he has been throughout his career, so why would he not for Chelsea, too?”
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