Chelsea defender Thiago Silva has spoken openly about the club’s recent struggles following their Champions League elimination.
Under their third manager of 2022/23 – Frank Lampard – the Blues succumbed to a 4-0 aggregate defeat to Real Madrid. And, having already exited all other Cups, Chelsea have little to look forward to for the rest of the season.
It has been a turbulent campaign at Stamford Bridge overall. Todd Boehly’s takeover has seen huge investment in a large number of signings. However, a coach has not yet been afforded the time to mesh together this massive squad.
For Thiago Silva, the problems that Chelsea have endured in 2022/23 are not solely down to coaching.
“We can’t blame managers if we don’t want to take responsibility,” said Silva, via Hayters TV. “It has been a difficult period for the club with lots of indecision. A change of owners, new players arriving… We had to increase the size of the dressing room because it didn’t fit the squad.
“A positive point is that there are amazing players here. But on the other hand, there are always players that will be unhappy. There is always going to be someone upset because not everyone can play. The manager can only pick eleven from 30-something players.
“That’s tough because some can’t make the squad. We signed eight more in January.”
The veteran defender then called for a clear plan for the club.
“We need to stop and put a strategy in place or next season we could make the same mistakes.”
To add to the misery, Chelsea extended an unwanted streak with the 2-0 loss on Tuesday night.
Blues increase winless run with UCL exit
According to Twitter stats account Statman Dave, the London side are on their worst winless streak since 1995.
Chelsea have not won in seven matches across all competitions. Their last victory came over a month ago when they defeated Leicester 3-1 on 11 March. Since then, they have lost five times, whilst drawing twice.
These ties came against the two Merseyside clubs – Everton and Liverpool – in the Premier League. Meanwhile, a loss at Aston Villa between these draws brought an end to Graham Potter’s time as boss.
His replacement, Frank Lampard, came in and oversaw a 1-0 defeat to Wolves. Following this, a pair of 2-0 beatings by Real Madrid sandwiched a domestic loss to Brighton.
It has been a brutal run of results for the Blues, culminating in their Champions League elimination. On a personal level, this was a big let-down for Thiago Silva.
Thiago Silva on Chelsea defeat: “This might have been my last UCL game”
Whilst speaking post-match, Silva could not hide his frustration at Chelsea’s exit from Europe.
“It’s a bit of anger, disappointment, a bit of frustration,” he said, via the Club Website. “It’s possibly my last match in the Champions League, and it’s sad to finish like that. The frustration is there, above all with how the game went.
“The match over there [in Spain] was very difficult. Here we played well in the first half, controlled the match, and stopped goalscoring opportunities. After that, if you don’t score against a team like Madrid, that’s what happens. That’s the level.”
The Brazilian’s contract with the club expires in June 2024. From there, Thiago Silva may decide to retire or even leave Chelsea. The Blues will definitely not be in the Champions League next season. So, there may be some truth to Silva’s prediction that it was his last match in the competition.
Featured image credit: Getty
