Sevilla show Chelsea a smarter way to spend
Chelsea's huge transfer spend has so far failed to deliver the expected return on investment as Frank Lampard's men continue to leak goals at an alarming rate.
The Blues splashed £220 million ($284 million, 242 million euros) on Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech and Edouard Mendy, while Thiago Silva joined from Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer.
By contrast, even the European elite were more cautious as Real Madrid did not make a single signing, Barcelona tried to offload big salaries and Leroy Sane was the only major arrival at Bayern Munich.
Yet, Chelsea are far from being considered among the principal contenders as the Champions League returns this week, as Lampard has so far failed to find solutions to familiar problems from his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have won just two of their opening five Premier League games of the season and twice blew the lead against Southampton on Saturday for already their second 3-3 draw of the campaign.
In 43 league games under Lampard, they have now conceded 63 goals.
Going forward there are signs that Werner and Havertz, who both scored their first Premier League goals at the weekend, are beginning to click, while Ziyech and Christian Pulisic will add even more firepower as they return from injury.
However, another huge error from the world's most expensive goalkeeper, Kepa Arrizabalaga, cost his side against Southampton and the Spaniard may have to start against Sevilla on Tuesday with Mendy unlikely to return from injury in time.
- No fear for Sevilla -
The case of Kepa illustrates the very different economic models that Chelsea and Sevilla operate.
Just two years on from paying a £72 million buyout clause to sign Kepa from Athletic Bilbao, Chelsea have cut their losses by spending another £20 million on Mendy.
Sevilla, on the other hand, consistently have to sell their best talent and evolve to remain a European power.
The Andalusians have a better record in European competition than Chelsea over the past seven seasons despite a drastically smaller budget.
That is mainly thanks to winning the Europa League four times in that period, most recently in August when they saw off Roma, Wolves, Manchester United and Inter Milan in an impressive run to the title.
Even European champions Bayern needed extra-time to see of Julen Lopetegui's men in the UEFA Super Cup last month.
"Sevilla has created a parallel world of happiness for fans in these difficult times," Monchi, the club's renowned sporting director, told A Balon Parado this week.
But in playing down hopes they can challenge for a first La Liga title since 1946 with Madrid and Barcelona not the forces they once were, Monchi highlighted the stark financial gulf Sevilla still have to bridge.
"We have in mind the moment in which we can take a jump is when we reach revenue of 300 million euros," he added.
Revenue for the 2018/19 season without Champions League football was just 206 million euros.
Chelsea have spent well more than that in one summer, but that is still no guarantee that will buy success at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Granada, when Sevilla played for half the game with 10 men was the first time Lopetegui's side had lost in 90 minutes since February.
They have already drawn at the Camp Nou this season and will have no fear facing a Chelsea side that shown itself incapable of beating Southampton and West Brom.
-
Discover Secret Swimming Holes and Hidden History in Crystal River, FloridaFive Years Without FacebookU.S. evacuates Ukraine embassy as White House warns invasion could be imminent.Trump's big EPA website changes reach 'whole new level of willful ignorance'The Future of Tech: The Desktop PCNorth Korea to hold state funeral for military official known for ties with Kim Jong工行网点“开”进村 金融服务送到家广东病虫绿色防控立新功!攻克芹菜农残超标难题The Techies Who LunchHamza on cusp of history
下一篇:Ruling bloc seeks tougher sentences for deepfake sex crimes
- ·高温难耐,工会驿站化身“清凉小屋”
- ·我市公务员全员纳入工伤保险保障体系
- ·书香润童心 阅读伴成长
- ·Opposition leader to appear before prosecutors for questioning Monday
- ·Weather update for second Pak vs Ban second Test match day one
- ·The terrible truth so many experts missed about Russia before its Ukraine invasion.
- ·Adorable Cassini Google Doodle celebrates its Saturn mission
- ·江门市市长吴晓晖:推动六大农业产业总产值突破800亿元
- ·Europe now has a huge AI gap, for better or for worse
- ·Yoon calls for unified action against NK threats at summit with Chinese presence
- ·最高检明确:重点办理八项涉农领域公益诉讼案件
- ·Pence rebukes Trump (again): No room in GOP “for apologists for Putin.”
- ·Apple Watch 10 rumors: Everything we know so far
- ·为建设“熊猫老家、多彩宝兴”贡献人大力量
- ·Yoon calls for unified action against NK threats at summit with Chinese presence
- ·Tish James should take over New York Trump investigation.
- ·Apple Intelligence is now a little easier to get outside the U.S.
- ·North Korea's total suspected COVID
- ·The Last Mile to Civilization 2.0: Technologies From Our Not Too Distant Future
- ·North Korea's total suspected COVID
- ·10 Big Misconceptions About Computer Hardware
- ·6 big questions users should be asking about political advertising on X/Twitter
- ·U.S. evacuates Ukraine embassy as White House warns invasion could be imminent.
- ·Disney+ is already cracking down on password sharing in Canada
- ·Essential Apps to Install on your Windows PC or Mac
- ·Watch out 'Eras Tour' resellers, you may have to pay taxes
- ·We Cannot Live Without Cryptography!
- ·Haaland in 'much better' shape than last season
- ·老广送礼N件套,你get到了吗?
- ·"Melting choc chip" blocks could stack up as grid
- ·“大体老师”的故事:以生命点亮生命
- ·Zambia no Women's World Cup underdogs: coach
- ·一切权力进清单 清单之外无特权
- ·Tuchel hails 'very complete' Min
- ·Tesla's big software update includes something called 'Night Curfew'
- ·Google I/O 2023: New Gmail AI feature will soon write entire emails for you. How it works.