Chelsea Might Be The Second Best Team In The League – Here’s What Lets Them Down

Following their impressive showing against Arsenal, Chelsea might quietly be the second-best team in the Premier League – but there are still flaws.

Enzo Maresca has built a side capable of outplaying elite opponents, controlling territory, and producing some of the league’s best defensive numbers.

But the same issues keep appearing in certain games: inconsistent pressing effort, lapses in concentration defensively and a young squad still learning to respect the ugly side of the game.

This season has shown that Chelsea can compete with anyone. The problem is that they do not always behave like a top-two team.

Are Chelsea the Second-Best Team in the Premier League Right Now?

The numbers say Chelsea are performing at a top-two level. Their xGD per 90 has improved from last season, their defensive structure has tightened, and they are creating enough chances to win most games.

Their recent performances against Barcelona and Arsenal showcased the ceiling: a team that can dominate possession, manipulate space, and suffocate elite attacks.

Chelsea’s ability to adapt their defensive shape – pressing high against Barcelona, sitting in a compact block against Arsenal – shows tactical maturity and excellent coaching.

But this isn’t always the case, particularly when it comes to playing against ‘lesser’ sides.

Chelsea Don’t Press Like a Top Team

A recent league-wide data graphic from @DataAnalyticEPL showing running intensity placed Chelsea alongside teams who don’t press.

That reflects what the eye test has shown in matches like Sunderland and Burnley — games where Chelsea sleepwalked through defensive phases.

The issue is not physical capacity. It’s mentality.

Chelsea can press at an elite level. In fact, as outlined in our earlier piece on what Chelsea need to become genuine Premier League title contenders, they have some of the league’s best high-turnover creation and counter-pressing tools.

Their problem is that they don’t maintain it across all match contexts.

Against top sides, they defend with hunger. Against weaker sides, they relax, take their foot off the gas. And that inconsistency is exactly what keeps them out of a real title race.

How you do anything is how you do everything.

Right now, Chelsea only defend properly against the top sides.

Why Chelsea Drop Points to Lower Teams

Chelsea’s drop-offs aren’t a tactical issue. They’re cultural.

This is the youngest squad in the Premier League, and it shows.

When things are going well, they look like future champions. When they lose one duel or concede one counterattack, their intensity collapses.

Sunderland’s winning goal was the perfect example: a simple transition where half the Chelsea team failed to sprint back. Burnley and Brentford punished the exact same behaviours.

These are not structural problems. They are standards problems.

Until Chelsea consistently match the defensive effort of title-winning sides – sprinting back, covering the pitch, winning ugly duels – they will continue to throw away points in winnable matches.

What Chelsea Are Doing Exceptionally Well

To be clear: Chelsea do many things at an elite level.

Defensive Numbers Are Outstanding

Chelsea’s xGA figures across November (0.1 vs Spurs, 0.4 vs Burnley, 0.7 vs Barca) show that when switched on, they defend like a top-two side.

Set-Piece Output Is Elite

They now rank second in the league for set-piece goals, a product of Maresca’s detailed work on routines and spacing.

Tactical Flexibility Is Improving

Chelsea can press high, sit in a block, or control possession with ease. Few teams in the league can defend and attack in such varied structures.

Talent Pool Is Enormous

Selling Nicolas Jackson has reduced their counterattacking threat, but young attackers like Estevao give Chelsea a long-term ceiling that’s frighteningly high.

What Ultimately Lets Chelsea Down

Chelsea’s biggest problems are not technical or tactical – they are:

Lack of Consistency

The same group that dismantles Tottenham or outplays Arsenal also drops points to relegation candidates.

Emotional Discipline

Red cards, lapses in concentration, and needless fouls recur too frequently. These moments kill momentum.

Lack of Experienced Leaders

Chelsea lack the type of player who can drag the team through chaotic periods – someone who sets standards every minute, not just in big games.

Inconsistent Defensive Work

The team does not defend with the same intensity in every match. Against elite sides, they run. Against struggling sides, they jog.

Maresca has the tactics, the structure, and the ideas. What he does not yet have is a group that can execute them at the same level every single week.

Are Chelsea Title Contenders?

They’re in the conversation. Absolutely.

They’re already playing like the second-best team in the league in many metrics. But until their young squad matures culturally, they will remain a brilliantly built team that still cannot yet be trusted across a 38-game season.

Chelsea have the tactics of a title challenger. They just don’t yet have the behaviours of one.

Fix that, and they’ll be right in there. Fail to fix it, and they will hover just below the elite once again.