Chelsea’s struggles deepened after a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Brighton, and Levi Colwill was singled out for criticism by pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher, who believe the young defender needs to become physically stronger to compete in the Premier League.
The Blues had shown promise earlier in the season but have now endured a worrying slump, sitting 12th in the Premier League form table. Their latest defeat follows a 2-1 FA Cup loss to the same Brighton side, and pressure is mounting on head coach Enzo Maresca, who is among the favourites to be the next Premier League manager sacked.
Colwill, making his first start since returning from injury, endured a torrid night as Brighton’s attackers dominated Chelsea’s defence. Neville believes the young centre-back is struggling with the physicality of the league and needs to improve his strength.
“Colwill has got to get stronger, he’s got to get stronger,” Neville said on Sky Sports.
“He’s getting overpowered quite easily in games that I’ve seen recently. Two or three games that I’ve seen recently, he’s been bullied in that channel.
“Also, that one [Brighton’s second goal] was a really bad one for him in that he also gives the ball away. But he then sits on the floor, turns around and looks. He spends two or three seconds on the floor.
“Just get up and sprint back! So that’s a bad habit.
“Look, he’s still young and he’s got a lot of learning to do, as have a lot of the young Chelsea players that are playing in these types of positions.
“But they’ve got to get stronger in their bodies, they’ve got to get really physical and aggressive.
“That’s tough when you’re a young centre-half that maybe hasn’t developed as fully as you should do yet, but he’s learning on the job and it’s hard work for him at the moment.”
Carragher echoed Neville’s thoughts, going a step further by suggesting Colwill needs to fill out physically.
“He looks like he needs to get a good meal down him and sort of fill out.
“When you look at Danny Welbeck and the strikers that they’ve got up front, the physicality in the Premier League now… if you’re a centre-back and you can’t cope…
“Actually, if you go back to the game at Anfield when Chelsea were on a really good run and outplaying Liverpool for a lot of that game, they lost it because the centre-back couldn’t cope with direct play over the top.
“Liverpool couldn’t play through them, Chelsea had a lot of the ball, and that again was a problem for them.
“When you look at that back four, it’s nowhere near strong enough, physical enough, good enough. It’s a million miles away.”
With Chelsea’s defensive frailties exposed once again, Colwill and his teammates must find a way to respond quickly. As the club’s top-four hopes continue to fade, questions are growing over whether the squad is physically and mentally ready to compete at the highest level.