'It's Champions League guys!' - Leboeuf concerned by Chelsea's 'completely abnormal' Sevilla display

James Westwood

'It's Champions League guys!' - Leboeuf concerned by Chelsea's 'completely abnormal' Sevilla display image

Frank Leboeuf has expressed his concern after Chelsea's "completely abnormal" display against Sevilla, highlighting a lack of inspiration in both midfield and attack.

Chelsea welcomed Sevilla to Stamford Bridge for their first Champions League fixture of the new season on Tuesday night, having been drawn alongside the La Liga outfit, Krasnodar and Rennes in Group E.

Frank Lampard's side were ultimately unable to hit the ground running as they allowed last season's Europa League winners to dominate possession in the first half, with summer signing Edouard Mendy keeping the scores level by producing a superb save to keep out a deflected header.

The Senegalese goalkeeper also saved a fierce Lucas Ocampos strike just before the interval, and the second half followed a similar theme as the Blues continued to struggle in the final third.

A Kurt Zouma header and a long-range Timo Werner effort represented the home side's best opportunities, while at the other end, Joan Jordan was unlucky to see his brilliantly-struck volley fly just over Mendy's crossbar.

Although Leboeuf was pleased to see Chelsea claim their second clean sheet of the season, he was hugely disappointed by their lack of cutting edge going forward and their failure to make home advantage count.

"I don’t see what I want to see, I don’t see the players speeding up the game and doing something, changing rhythm," the ex-Blues defender told ESPN FC .

"I saw Mendy is much better than Kepa. It’s a clean sheet, especially after the first half, Sevilla had around 65 per cent possession of the ball away from home at Chelsea in the Champions League, that’s completely abnormal.

"I’m pleased to see Thiago Silva because he’s a talented player that brings something very special to the defence and makes it more solid, but after that, I don’t see somebody in the midfield, especially offensively, somebody doing something special to create something.

"They’re looking for each other, not knowing each other and we saw clearly nothing. The best chance was after an hour from [Sevilla’s] Jordan from a corner kick because no Chelsea player was marking him and he had a fantastic volley, that’s the only thing that I saw.

"Half a chance from Werner, another half a chance from Zouma, that’s it, Champions League guys, Champions League. We want to see something soon."

 

James Westwood