What’s going wrong at Chelsea?

 

Two losses against Everton and Basel in the space of five days sees Chelsea languishing in sixth place in the Premier League and bottom of Champions League Group E alongside Steaua Bucharest. Not a great start to Jose Mourinho's second stint in charge of Chelsea.

While not a total crisis, the "Happy One" certainly has a few problems to digest, analyse and unravel ahead of their trip to Craven Cottage to face Fulham on Saturday.

Who deserves to lead the line for Chelsea? Perhaps it's new arrival Samuel Eto'o, who Mourinho was quick to praise following the defeat to Basel (see below). What about Fernando Torres, the player who has scored one league goal in 2013? Demba Ba is in with a shout, having scored one goal more than Torres in the Premier League since New Year's Day.

Mourinho: 'Samuel Eto'o maybe needs sharpness but he is a great player and he will score goals' 

Without analysing each and every position in detail, thus extending this article into an elaborate essay of epic proportions, one area that definitely needs to be addressed is Mourinho's failure to squeeze the best from Chelsea's young, talented and exuberant attacking midfielders. It should only be a matter of time before a perfect understanding is formed between the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar, Juan Mata, Willian, Kevin De Bruyne and Andre Schuerrle. But at this moment in time, it seems like the system isn't functioning correctly.

Following Chelsea's Champions League defeat to Basel, we have hand-picked their three worst outfield performers, who just so happen to be attacking midfielders. Why did they perform badly, what went wrong, and can the tactical system be to blame?

Juan Mata

Upon joining Chelsea from La Liga side Valencia, it would seem that winning the club's Player of the Year of award twice doesn't guarantee a starting place.

The 25-year-old Spaniard was by far Chelsea's most creative player last season with 95 chances created and 12 goals. However, Mourinho has decided that Mata should be warming the bench this campaign, with the energetic and resilient Oscar replacing him in his preferred position behind the striker.

Juan Mata played the last 23 minutes of Chelsea's 2-1 defeat to Murat Yakin's Basel, so while it's perhaps unfair to label him as one of their worst players on the night, the imaginative attacker only achieved a Squawka Performance Score of -2. Mata completed 20 passes – 12 of which were forward – with a pass accuracy of 80%, but failed with his one and only attempt at beating his opposite man.

Oscar is currently Mourinho's preferred central playmaker due to the Brazilian's willingness to help out defensively. Mata simply needs to keep impressing during training in the hope of catching the manager's eye. Unless something behind the scenes is keeping the incredibly talented Spaniard out of the side.

Eden Hazard

Hazard joined Mata in achieving a Performance Score of -2. The tricky Belgian winger has failed to impose himself during the past two matches and Chelsea fans will be hoping that Hazard can find that magical touch once more.

While the 22-year-old ran past his opposite man four times, he could only complete 75% of his attempted passes, which is partly due to Chelsea's narrow 4-2-3-1 formation. An intricate and narrow system relies on moments of magic to unlock defences, and while Chelsea have a plethora of talented midfielders, at times, like we've seen from Barcelona under Tito Vilanova, it can look extremely toothless.

When short, quick passing works it's a delight to watch. But if opposition defences set up correctly, Chelsea can lack a sense of width and directness.

Willian

Chelsea's £30 million signing was their worst player against Swiss Super League champions Basel on Wednesday night.

The former Shakhtar Donetsk and Anzhi Makhachkala midfielder will have been fairly disappointed with his debut for the Blues, picking up a Squawka Performance Score of -8. Furthermore, all of Willian's five crosses failed to reach the intended target, and like Eden Hazard, he only completed 75% of attempted passes.

As Mourinho tries to find the perfect attacking trio within an ideal tactical framework, Chelsea fans have to remain patient. In Mourinho they trust.