Concerns for Chelsea

02 May 2009 18:37
Chelsea 3-1 FulhamSoccer Saturday analysisChelsea may have won the West London derby against Fulham, but Charlie Nicholas warned they will have to play much better if they want to beat Barcelona in midweek. Goals from Nicolas Anelka, Florent Malouda and Didier Drogba earned the Blues a 3-1 Premier League win on Saturday afternoon, but manager Guus Hiddink was not fully satisfied with their performance. Nicholas agreed that the Blues were too open at the back throughout the game and will need to tighten things up if they are to overcome Barcelona in Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg. "I think at times it was too open for Hiddink's liking," Nicholas said on Soccer Saturday. "There was a lot of space for Murphy in particular and Nevland's equaliser was just a simple ball from the inside-right position. "John Terry was sleeping and I don't know where Ashley Cole went, it was very unlike Chelsea. If Cech was on top form he might even have got it. "There were signs in the second half also. Zamora got in the same position on two or three occasions, but the final ball wasn't so good. "Put it this way, if Barcelona get in those spaces it's good night Chelsea because they'll punish them. They've got the guys to make it finish. "There were concerns for Hiddink." Ashley Cole started at left-back against Fulham, having been suspended for the first leg at Barcelona, and Nicholas was unimpressed by the England defender's performance. However, he says he would still pick him over Jose Bosingwa in that position to neutralise the threat of Lionel Messi. "On his performance today I would probably say no," Nicholas said when asked if Cole should start on Wednesday. "Merse was saying he would leave him out, but I would play Cole because he's got the quick feet to handle the Messi situation. "I know Bosingwa did really well and put him inside and ran him into traffic all the time - but the problem will be on the counter attack. "I think Ashley Cole is more natural and will focus on that. If I was a manager I'd be playing him against Messi." As for Fulham, Nicholas enjoyed some of their attacking play but felt they were uncharacteristically weak at the back. He added: "It was not great defending from Fulham, which is very unlike them. "They passed it well, they probed well, they made a lot of chances and the build-up play is excellent - but they were pretty vulnerable defensively. "They switched off on a few occasions and once Drogba made it 3-1 it was comfortable. It was exhibition stuff from Chelsea."

Source: SKY_Sports