JOE COLE DEMANDS EXPERIENCE: CHELSEA'S COLLAPSE AFTER ATALANTA LOSS IS 'DISAPPOINTING'
Following a major loss to Atalanta, former Chelsea star Joe Cole highlights the team's need for experienced leaders to navigate tough matches.
After Chelsea's loss to Atalanta in the Champions League, Joe Cole made it clear what he thinks the team needs. Their recent form has been really disappointing, he said.
Just weeks ago, after they crushed Barcelona 3-0, people thought Enzo Maresca's team could go far in both the Premier League and Champions League.
But since then, Chelsea hasn't won four straight games. They've dropped to fifth place in the Premier League, eight points behind Arsenal.
On Tuesday, Joao Pedro put Chelsea ahead against Atalanta, but the home team came back with two goals in the second half to win 2-1.
This loss puts Chelsea in 11th place in the Champions League, and they'll likely fall even further after Wednesday's games.
Cole said Chelsea's performance in Italy was really disappointing. He believes that his old club needs to add some experienced players to Maresca's squad.
Since Todd Boehly took over in 2022, Chelsea has spent a ton of money, but they've mostly signed young players with potential rather than established stars.
It’s really disappointing, Cole told TNT Sports after the 2-1 defeat. Chelsea played well in the first half and got the first goal.
But they looked shaky after that, and you could see their weaknesses. It’s frustrating.
They played great against Barcelona, but they haven't kept that up, with three poor performances since then.
I keep thinking that they need more experienced players to help them get through tough games.
The coaches probably told them what to expect tonight, but it helps to have someone who's been there before on the field.
Chelsea isn't quite there yet. They show flashes of potential and have some great games, but then they have games like tonight where they just don't play well.
This weekend is very important because they haven't won in four games. They have to win against Everton.
Steve Sidwell, another former Chelsea player, added, The first half was even, but Chelsea looked disorganised in the second half, maybe because of the changes they made.
They seemed a bit off, and if you give good players time and space, they'll make you pay.
After this disappointing result in Italy, Chelsea's chances of qualifying for the Champions League are uncertain.
Maresca's team will play Pafos at home in their next European game on January 21, followed by a game against Napoli the following week.
When asked about Chelsea's chances in their last two games, Cole said, You'd expect them to beat Pafos at home, which would set up a huge game at Antonio Conte’s Napoli.
That game will be important. You don’t have to finish in the top eight, but you want to avoid playing extra games because the Premier League is tough.
DID LIAM ROSENIOR’S PAST AS A PUNDIT INFLUENCE HIS DEFENSIVE STRATEGY AT ARSENAL?
Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior hits back at critics after a defensive approach saw the Blues exit the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Liam Rosenior stood by his cautious approach after Chelsea couldn’t overturn their first-leg deficit against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final.
Down 3-2 from the first match, Chelsea never really put Arsenal under pressure at the Emirates. In the end, Kai Havertz—of all people—put the game to bed in stoppage time, scoring against his old club.
Rosenior switched things up, going with a back three and playing it safe. He wanted to keep the game close and try to push hard late on. He brought on Cole Palmer and Estevao around the 60th minute, hoping for a spark, but Chelsea still couldn’t carve out real chances. Arsenal just wouldn’t budge.
Pundits didn’t love Rosenior’s tactics and let him know it. He brushed it off. “I’ve been a pundit. It’s easy. It’s easy in hindsight,” he said. “If I go all-out and press high, we could give away two early goals, and then everyone asks what I’m thinking. That’s just how it is. Lose, and you’re hammered. Win, and you’re a genius. Usually, it’s somewhere in the middle.”
Chelsea were up against the league leaders, and with both Reece James and Pedro Neto missing due to minor injuries, Rosenior planned to hang in there and try to frustrate Arsenal—and maybe turn the mood in the stadium.
“That was the idea. You saw it,” he said. “I thought the psychological side of the tie mattered, and you could feel it in the stadium too. At 60 minutes, I brought on Cole and Estevao, and suddenly we had some moments around the box. I think people sensed this game could flip.”
It didn’t happen, though. Rosenior said he couldn’t fault his players for their effort, and in the end, Arsenal’s clinching goal came while Chelsea were throwing everything forward, desperate to turn things around.
IS JOãO PEDRO ACTUALLY BETTER THAN LIVERPOOL’S £79M HUGO EKITIKé? THE STATS REVEAL ALL
Liam Rosenior makes history as Chelsea win three in a row! Discover why João Pedro is the Premier League's best summer signing.
Since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over Chelsea in 2022, they've been anything but quiet in the transfer market. In just three and a half years, they've signed 54 new senior players and spent well over £1 billion.
Some of these signings haven’t even made it onto the pitch for the first team—guys like Gaga Słonina, Ângelo Gabriel, Omari Kellyman, and Caleb Wiley, just to name a few. But others have really made their mark. Think Marc Cucurella, Moisés Caicedo, Enzo Fernández and, of course, Cole Palmer. Now, the question is, has one of Chelsea’s latest summer signings done enough to join that group? Is he about to become one of the Premier League’s signings of the season?
Let’s talk about Chelsea’s summer addition and what he’s bringing to the table. It’s been a great week for Liam Rosenior’s squad. On Saturday night, they were 2-0 down at halftime to West Ham at Stamford Bridge. Somehow, they turned it around and won 3-2, with Enzo Fernández scoring in stoppage time to seal it.
That win made it three league victories in a row for Rosenior. He’s now only the fourth English manager to start his Premier League career with three straight wins—joining Bobby Gould, Sam Allardyce, and Craig Shakespeare. Not bad company at all.
Just three days earlier, Chelsea booked their spot in the Champions League round of 16 after a wild 3-2 win away at Napoli. Down 2-1, João Pedro scored twice in the second half to turn the game around. The Brazilian’s goal at the weekend kicked off Chelsea’s comeback, bringing his total to 15 goals for the club—including three at the Club World Cup. So, how does he stack up against other strikers who switched clubs last summer?
Looking at the numbers, here’s how the new strikers have done since moving in the summer of 2025:
Hugo Ekitiké (Liverpool, £79m): 15 goals (10 PL, 2 UCL)
João Pedro (Chelsea, £60m): 12 goals (9 PL, 3 UCL)
Viktor Gyökeres (Arsenal, £54.8m): 11 goals (6 PL, 4 UCL)
Nick Woltemade (Man United, £69m): 9 goals (7 PL, 1 UCL)
Benjamin Šeško (Man City, £66.3m): 6 goals (5 PL)
Alexander Isak (Newcastle, £125m): 3 goals (2 PL)
Liam Delap (Spurs, £30m): 2 goals (1 PL, 1 UCL)
Only Ekitiké has scored more than João Pedro across all competitions, but Liverpool paid about £20m more for him than Chelsea paid for Pedro. In the whole Premier League, only Erling Haaland, Igor Thiago, Antoine Semenyo, and Ekitiké have more league goals than Pedro’s nine.
But stats aside, Chelsea just look more dangerous with Pedro leading the attack. Their last league defeat? He started that one on the bench at Craven Cottage. Since Rosenior took over, Pedro has started and scored in every match.
Chelsea have brought in plenty of players from Brighton during the BlueCo era, but with the way things are going, João Pedro might end up being the best of the bunch.