'So poor!' - Chelsea trio slammed by Alan Shearer
Cameron Smith
- 17 Oct 2023 11:55 BST
- 5 min read
Former Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United striker Alan Shearer has torn into three Chelsea stars for poor missed chances in 2023.
The Premier League’s all-time record goal-scorer is a contributor for The Athletic and has slammed several top stars for bad finishing in a piece titled: ‘How Not To Score.’
Chelsea scored just 38 times in the English top flight last season and their struggles in front of goal have continued under Mauricio Pochettino in 2023-24.
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The Blues have netted 14 goals in 10 games so far this season, although they did score four against Burnley before the October international break.
Despite spending over €1 billion on new players since Todd Boehly became owner in 2022, Chelsea have not signed a striker with a track history of being a consistent goal-scorer.
Raheem Sterling is the only new addition since Boehly took charge to have proven pedigree in front of goal and the Englishman only scored six league goals in his debut campaign.
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Shearer, who won the 1994 Premier League, has analysed several high-profile chances missed in recent months for The Athletic, including three from Chelsea: Marc Cucurella vs Real Madrid, Mykhailo Mudryk vs Manchester United and Nicolas Jackson vs Aston Villa.
What has Shearer said?
In total, Shearer delved into 26 big missed chances from the start of last season and explained his thoughts behind what went wrong and how poor each miss was. Here is what he said about the aforementioned Chelsea trio.
Marc Cucurella vs Real Madrid
Marc Cucurella is found at the back post by his opposite wing-back Reece James and has a glorious chance to put Chelsea 1-0 up in stoppage time. The Blues were 2-0 down on aggregate and a goal here could have turned the tie.
Cucurella took a poor touch and his chance was well saved by Thibaut Courtois.
“NO, NO, NO, NO, NO. F****** NO,” Shearer wrote. “I fully acknowledge that Cucurella isn’t a striker, but that’s kind of why I wanted to include this. There’s no instinct. It has all the hallmarks of a player who isn’t used to being in that position. (Although fair play to him for getting there).
“There is zero reason to have a touch. None at all. He’s six yards out and when the ball reaches him, he’s got two-thirds of the goal to aim at. If he shoots, it’s a goal.
“But because he takes a touch, he’s got the ’keeper sprinting out to him and two defenders back on the line. No. Just no.”
Mykhailo Mudryk vs Man Utd
In this instance, Mudryk is found inside the penalty area by Lewis Hall, but the Ukrainian spoons his shot wide when opening up his body.
“All of this is terrible, starting with the ball in from Lewis Hall,” says Shearer. “If the pass is hit a couple of yards ahead of Mudryk, he runs onto it without breaking stride, but he has to check, then go again. After that, the mess is all down to him.
“Mudryk is trying to get the ball onto his right boot. Theoretically, I don’t have a problem with that, but in practice it means he’s effectively having to step over it and his feet are all over the place, turning what should be a simple chance into something horrifically complicated. He can’t sort them out. Strike it with his left boot and he scores.
Nicolas Jackson vs Aston Villa
The final Chelsea clip analysed in Nicolas Jackson’s miss versus Aston Villa. He times his run perfectly and is found by Mudry, but Jackson prods his effort at Emiliano Martinez rather than into the back of the net.”
“Another one where I struggle to compute what I’m seeing,” Shearer starts. “It’s a great pass by Mudryk and a great run to meet it, with Jackson slowing up to allow the ball to come back to him.
“From there, though, where do you start? I just don’t understand what he’s trying to do, letting it come across him to the other side and then attempting to hit it with the front of his foot. There are so many things going awry.
“He has an unbelievable opportunity to shoot with his left boot and because he doesn’t want to do that, he causes himself a world of pain. It’s a natural desire to make life easier for yourself, but if the thinking here is that Jackson does this by allowing it to run across him, it’s completely flawed.
“Look at his positioning, his body, his shape, his lack of balance, his technique. It’s so poor.
“This time, it’s a 10 out of 10 chance that becomes three or four.”
