Chelsea vs Thailand Stars: Blues Score Four, Midfield Creativity Still a Problem

Sometimes, goals can be deceiving. Mistakes are made when you focus on results and not processes. And although Chelsea did show some improvements against the Thailand all-stars, their performance, in truth, was not three goals better. The midfield continued to struggle in creating chances.

Rather than receiving balls into the box, the strikers—Daniel Sturridge, Fernando Torres and Nicolas Anelka—had to try to penetrate the box on their own, which a surprisingly strong Thai back four had no trouble in dealing with.

The midfield trio of John Obi-Mikel, Frank Lampard and Josh McEachran had a solid game, but did nothing to open up the defense, especially up the middle, where Fernando Torres continued to struggle. One has to wonder how much of the Spanish international's scoring drought has to do with poor service from the middle.

Chelsea opened up the scoring when Lampard found himself with space just outside the box. He took his time and fired a low shot in to the corner of the goal. Fittingly, the goal was not set up by one of his midfield compatriots, but instead by Anelka.

Recent reports have linked Chelsea with Palermo midfielder Javier Pastore. The Argentine likes to get forward and attack himself, scoring 11 goals in Serie A last season. But is an attacking mid really what Chelsea needs, especially with a healthy Lampard in tow? While Pastore would be a nice replacement for an aging Lampard, Luka Modric still seems to be the better fit right now.

If the Blues did add another midfielder, the odd man out would be the barely-legal Josh McEachran. Andre Villas-Boas seems to be infatuated with the kid, but he still looks to be a year or two away from cementing himself in the first team. He sometimes looks lost, which may be attributed to being played in a more offensive role than he is used to. The acquisition of a Modric or Pastore may hurt McEachran's playing time, but it would allow him to drop back in to a holding role.

And if Villas-Boas does bring in one these rumored midfielders, it will be interested to see if he sticks with the 4-3-3 formation he used with Porto and during Chelsea's four preseason friendlies. The Blues may be better suited going with a 4-2-2-2, which would allow them to play Torres and Didier Drogba at the same time.

Whatever the formation, it is very clear that West Londoners are lacking in the middle, and if the team fails to bring in an influential player, Villas-Boas' debut campaign may go over too well.