Settling Into A New Season – A Look At The Blues

Next Match | Saturday 18 April Sat 18 Apr

POR

(A)

01 D

04 H

38 M

20 S

Interviews & Features

Heritage

Photos

Settling Into A New Season – A Look At The Blues

The Athletic journalist Simon Johnson believes Chelsea are yet to fully unshackle themselves from a run of frustrating form which dates back into last season.

2022-08-27T09:30:00.000Z

by Sam Stevens

Published

27 Aug, 2022

Settling Into A New Season – A Look At The Blues

The Athletic journalist Simon Johnson believes Chelsea are yet to fully unshackle themselves from a run of frustrating form which dates back into last season.

Sam Stevens

2022-08-27T09:30:00.000Z

Settling Into A New Season – A Look At The Blues

The Athletic journalist Simon Johnson believes Chelsea are yet to fully unshackle themselves from a run of frustrating form which dates back into last season.

Sam Stevens

2022-08-27T09:30:00.000Z

Settling Into A New Season – A Look At The Blues

The Athletic journalist Simon Johnson believes Chelsea are yet to fully unshackle themselves from a run of frustrating form which dates back into last season.

Sam Stevens

2022-08-27T09:30:00.000Z

Settling Into A New Season – A Look At The Blues

The Athletic journalist Simon Johnson believes Chelsea are yet to fully unshackle themselves from a run of frustrating form which dates back into last season.

Sam Stevens

2022-08-27T09:30:00.000Z

- Chelsea host Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday (3pm kick-off)- Simon Johnson, from The Athletic, has provided an update on the Blues' recent fortunes- He believes there is unease in west London despite an exciting summer in the capital- Foxes fans can enjoy live coverage of the clash from 2pm on LCFC TV

It's been a big summer for the west London club under the new ownership of Todd Boehly, with a raft of new faces arriving, including Raheem Sterling, Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella. However, four points from a possible nine, and a 3-0 defeat at Leeds United, have dampened spirits.

The Blues welcome Leicester City – another side to truly kick-start their 2022/23 campaign – to Stamford Bridge on Saturday (3pm kick-off).

"You get a feeling of frustration from Thomas Tuchel, which I suppose we saw in no uncertain terms after the Tottenham game," Johnson told LCFC TV's Matchday Live show this week.

"He’s, of course, now got a touchline ban for the Leicester game and there’s an element of… pressure’s too strong a word, but clearly four points out of nine tells part of the story. This is a run of form which has almost carried on from the backend of last season.

"Chelsea had a poor run then, so their actual points tally from their last 13 league games is only 19 points. This isn’t just a start to this season, it feels very much like they’re carrying on from where they left off. They’re a side that is conceding goals too easily and struggling to score goals at the other end.

"If you’re Leicester, while they have their own problems at the moment, it will give them some encouragement that you can come to Stamford Bridge and cause some problems."

Remedying that lack of accuracy in front of goal will be top of the agenda for Chelsea against a side who drew 1-1 with them in west London back in May. Johnson, though, believes the home faithful could express their unease if City make a strong start on Saturday afternoon.

"Their home record has been pretty poor as well," he added. "I think, last season, it ranked about ninth or 10th. That was a major factor in why their title challenge slipped off. They regularly dropped points against teams they were expected to beat. Teams are coming to Chelsea without that fear factor.

"They don’t see Chelsea like they used to. They obviously used to have this ridiculous unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge in their pomp, particularly under [José] Mourinho. Inevitably, say if Leicester get off to a strong start, and it’s 0-0 or if Leicester take the lead, there will be some tension in the crowd.

"Leicester are one of the those teams who took a point off Chelsea at the end of last season. The atmosphere on that night was very quiet and nervous.

"This is early in a new season so they’ll be quick to rise again because there’s new owners and there’s an element of newness about Chelsea, but at the same time, there’s some old, familiar traits in this Chelsea team. Putting the ball in the back of the net – or their struggles to do that – is one of the key factors.

"They brought in Raheem Sterling, he’s yet to score, Kai Havertz hasn’t scored, Mason Mount hasn’t scored… but saying that, their performance against Spurs was very good. If not for a few refereeing decisions in that game, maybe the way the start to the season is viewed would be more upbeat."

All times BST.

LATEST HEADLINES

Rowett: James & Ramsey Assessed Pre-Pompey Gary Rowett revealed that Jordan James and Aaron Ramsey are being monitored prior to our trip to Portsmouth.

17 Hours 16 Mins Ago

Pompey Clash Live On Foxes Hub We're at Fratton Park this Saturday lunchtime - here's how to follow the action across Foxes Hub.

18 Hours 21 Mins Ago

McSweeney ‘Really Pleased’ With Leeds Triumph Leon McSweeney believes our Under-21s were rewarded for a high level of performance produced during the 3-2 success over Leeds United on Monday.

15 Apr, 2026

Foxes On Target In World Cup Qualifiers Hannah Cain and Sari Kees both netted in recent FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifiers, while Emily van Egmond scored for Australia.

15 Apr, 2026