Wasteful Chelsea lack these three things in poor 45 against 19th placed strugglers | OneFootball

It’s half time in the Ipswich – Chelsea game, and the Blues are losing 1-0 at half time.

It’s been a pretty poor half, and a constant frustration that we’re not leading the game. It was a soft penalty against us, and despite the front 3 being pretty anonymous we’ve had chances to go ahead. Football is a funny game, but it still never ceases to amaze how much it can confound your expectations, no matter how used to it you think you are.

Chelsea go into this season with most people expecting them to struggle – especially at first. Instead they shake off their painful last couple of years and exceed expectations by reeling off win after win.

Then, just as everyone starts to accept they’re good – almost to the day – they start dropping points. The excellent energy and belief that was overflowing just a few weeks ago has drained away, and they suddenly look weak and timid again.

Chelsea can turn this around – but lack 3 things

Enzo Maresca speaks to Noni Madueke. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

The wheel turns – sometimes it turns slowly, but it turns. It will likely only take a good result or two to turn things back in our favour. We may yet win tonight. If we put away our chances in that first half we’d be ahead, and Ipswich certainly aren’t solid defensively. But it’s still hard to get your head around how a team can go from looking like a shambles to one of the most deadly attacking forces in world football, and then return to being a frustrating group of strangers, all in the space of a few weeks.

This team lack three things – belief, finishing and energy. All of those things were there in abundance not long ago. What on earth has happened?