Craig Burley, a former Chelsea midfielder, has criticized Kai Havertz and three of his teammates after the team’s “unacceptable” loss to Southampton in the Premier League.
Chelsea’s mixed start to the new season continued on Tuesday night at St. Mary’s when Ralph Hasenhuttl’s young team won 2-1 after falling behind.
The visitors got off to a good start, and £50 million summer signing Raheem Sterling gave them the lead. Sterling has now scored three goals in his last two games.
But just 22 minutes later, goals from Romeo Lavia and Adam Armstrong put Southampton ahead. Chelsea didn’t show much as they tried to fight back after the half.
Burley told ESPN, “They were bad, so it didn’t come as a surprise.” Yes, they beat Leicester last weekend, but they’re still bad when they’re not at home.
They took the lead against a team that many people think will go down. The Chelsea team is too good for any of Southampton’s players.
“That was another bad performance. It’s unacceptable. I know that they have one or two injured players out, but so what? It just didn’t cut it. And it’s not a one-time thing.
“Look at how they did at Leeds. At Everton, they blew a chance to win. I’m sorry, but this isn’t good enough.’
Burley, who played for Chelsea in the 1990s and made more than 100 appearances, criticized Havertz, Mason Mount, Christian Pulisic, and Hakim Ziyech.
The 50-year-old is worried that Havertz will end up like Timo Werner, who, he says, “couldn’t make it in the Premier League” before going back to the Bundesliga.
He added, “Listen, I’ve said this before about Kai Havertz… It’s great that he did well in the Champions League and scored in the final, but there are still 50 games left in the season.
Timo Werner has gone back to Germany and scored three goals, which tells you everything you need to know. He didn’t do well in England, and Havertz is just like him.
“Mount doesn’t play very well. After that, they’ll all cry about Pulisic. The job is up to these people.
“Ziyech, he’s not very strong. When he joined the team under [former manager] Frank Lampard, we were all worried because he seemed weak and prone to getting hurt.
“Each of these players is worth a lot of money. The boss needs to take care of it.
Chelsea has now lost points in three of their first six games this season. They are currently eighth in the Premier League, five points behind leaders Arsenal.
Thomas Tuchel, the coach of the Blues, said, “It’s too easy to throw us off, beat us, or confuse us.” It’s too simple. Against Leeds, it happened. We need to figure out why and what to do about it.
“We lose focus, we forget our plans, and we don’t stick to them. It’s too easy to beat us.”
“We need to know what to do, and if we have to, we need to step up and play at a higher level.” We had to work hard to do this.’
When they play London rivals West Ham on Saturday, Chelsea will want to do better than they did last week.
