Stamford Bridge Was Once a Fortress, but Now It's Chelsea's Achilles Heel

STAMFORD BRIDGE, LONDON — It was the moment that summed up Chelsea's evening, perhaps even their season.

The ball broke free to Branislav Ivanovic on the edge of the Bournemouth box, and with a rush of blood to the head, he fired an erratic shot at goal.

Only Ivanovic didn't test Artur Boruc. He wasn't even close, rather troubling the linesman more on the far side of the pitch, leaving him to work out whether the shot was that poor it had gone out for a throw-in or a goal-kick.

Glenn Murray had already put the Cherries 1-0 in front by this stage with his 82nd-minute header, and the Chelsea fans had seen enough. They started remonstrating with Ivanovic, who reacted with a pained expression.

Diego Costa even got in on the act, seemingly demanding the Chelsea fans lay off his team-mate.

They had a point, though. It was woeful.

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It wasn't the lack of effort that would have frustrated those in the Matthew Harding Stand. It was more the lack of application and quality from a team that had run away with the title only six months earlier.

Ivanovic's shot was a symbol of all that.

Chelsea were staring down the barrel at a fourth home defeat in eight Premier League matches this season, and the only response was for Ivanovic to leather the ball at the goal in the hope something might happen.

He'd ran out of ideas, much like this Chelsea team.

Put those home defeats this term into perspective: Chelsea under Jose Mourinho had previously only ever lost once in the league in west London.

It used to be Fortress Stamford Bridge, but that tag has long floated off into the ether. West London has become a safe haven for visiting clubs. A sure thing.

And that's Chelsea's biggest problem.

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So bad is their away form Chelsea need the security of playing at home. For any team in their position—struggling to find consistency and victories—it's picking up points on your own patch that eases you out of it.

Winning at home builds momentum—it becomes the very rock from which success is built. Only Chelsea don't have that luxury at all; every week, home or away, they're staring into the abyss.

Losing a fourth home match  this season means Chelsea face the pressure of traveling to table-topping Leicester City on Dec. 14 needing a result.

That was always going to be the case as they attempted to climb the table, yet three points at the King Power Stadium are more vital than ever after Saturday.

Not having that stability at home is snowballing the catastrophe that is the current campaign.

Jose Mourinho's side sit just three points above the relegation zone. Given they face Leicester on a Monday evening to round off a long Premier League weekend, there's a very real possibility it could be just goal difference keeping them out of the bottom three ahead of kick-off.

No team wants that sort of pressure ahead of facing the league's top team—even if Leicester are still unfancied by some—especially a side carrying the tag of champions.

Chelsea blew it spectacularly against the Cherries on Saturday.

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As magnificent as Bournemouth were, Chelsea only have themselves to blame. They hadn't lost to a promoted side in 43 matches—a run stretching back to December 5, 2001 (incidentally, 14 years to the day of this defeat)—but you wouldn't have known it.

They lost their nerve, playing the same way they had against Tottenham Hotspur last time out. Eden Hazard was again the striker, and like he was at White Hart Lane, he was living off scraps up front.

This wasn't a Chelsea team at home, a team in its own back yard that used to win matches at Stamford Bridge in the tunnel before games had even kicked off.

It's a team that is quaking in its boots, lacking any real confidence to win matches. Even against teams who haven't tasted victory in over two months, as Bournemouth hadn't before Saturday's 1-0 success.

Mourinho sent his team out to snatch a victory, not win one, and Eddie Howe's men sniffed blood, going for the jugular to get their reward.

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It was too negative, and unless their home form improves, Chelsea's fortunes aren't going to anytime soon, either.

Combating that fear at Stamford Bridge is the key to it, which starts with Mourinho.

The Chelsea boss has built the mystique that surrounds him by appearing unflappable at home, and he needs to rediscover that Midas touch.

One place to start, of course, is by trying to win three points and not poach them instead.

Maybe by putting teams on the back foot Chelsea will make them ask questions of themselves. Right now it's the other way around, and they're suffering for it.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes