One mistake cost Chelsea a win on Saturday – and this player keeps making them | OneFootball

Chelsea’s defeat to Aston Villa yesterday came despite the Blues dominating the game for 65 minutes.

They hadn’t quite got the second goal they needed, but it was coming. Until Benoit Badiashile passed the ball to an opposition player, despite being under minimal pressure, and Villa pounced and scored.

Chelsea defender at fault once again – and it’s a pattern

Benoit Badiashile with a Chelsea news logo. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Of course there was more to it than conceding this one goal, but the team were so confident before they conceded and so terrible after that it’s impossible to not see it in those terms to some degree. And while all goals can be blamed on multiple people, this was such a clear moment of brain freeze from Badiashile it’s equally hard to turn the blame anywhere else.

Sadly for the Frenchman it’s the kind of mistake we’ve seen him make too many times. No matter how well he’s playing, these errors seem to always be just around the corner. With central defenders it’s better to have someone who is a reliable 7/10 than someone who can be sometimes an 8 and sometimes a 5.

Badiashile has been with us for a few years now, and this inconsistency doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere. Of course scoring more goals would have secured us 3 points – but we had the lead, and just needed to hold it.

In other news…

Enzo Maresca’s future has been somewhat in doubt since his comments about a lack of support at Chelsea, and recent results aren’t going to help make things feel any more stable. One pundit has speculated he’s lining up the Man City job for next summer.

James McAtee is another talent Chelsea are apparently looking at, and despite his struggles this season it’s a move we can see the Blues making, given their current transfer model.