Alexandre Pato's Lack of Presence Hints at His Chelsea Stint Ending in Failure
LIBERTY STADIUM, SWANSEA, WALES — Chelsea were lightweight against Swansea City on Saturday. From their defence to the frontmen, the Blues were far from the dominant side we had seen the week previous when they breezed to a 4-0 victory against Aston Villa.
Given Villa's struggles at the foot of the table, that's to be expected in some regard. Under Francesco Guidolin, Swansea are far more resolute and a different proposition. Their midseason slump seems to be over, and after reaching that coveted 40-point mark with their 1-0 win over Chelsea, they look to be heading back in the right direction.
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We're not quite sure where Chelsea are headed in their final games of the campaign. They're lingering in mid-table, with talk of outside hopes of reaching Europe fading by the week. Antonio Conte has been appointed as the new manager for next season, and it seems that time can't come quick enough.
The mistakes of the past campaign continue to haunt a club that was this time last year on the final stretch of claiming the fifth league title of its history—the fourth since Roman Abramovich took control in 2003.
The loan signing of Alexandre Pato in January sits high on the list of questionable moves Chelsea have made. It took over two months for him to make his debut for the club. And in his second outing, against Swansea, he was well below par.
Guus Hiddink has been boasting about the numbers he has with his strikers now. With injuries limiting him to just Diego Costa in the early part of his Chelsea tenure, Hiddink counts Pato, Radamel Falcao, and Bertrand Traore among his available options.
Numbers are high, but quality is low. We saw three of them perform at the Liberty Stadium, and there was only one who showed anything resembling an end product.
Traore was a 64th-minute replacement for Pato, and in the half-hour or so he played, he caused Swansea more problems than his more experienced team-mate.
Twice Pato should have scored for Chelsea—once on the stroke of half-time and the other after the interval, when he opted for a flash flick over a finish of substance—and twice he failed.
The Brazilian lacked any real presence, with a lack of movement making it an easier afternoon for Ashley Williams and Federico Fernandez than they were maybe expecting.
One journalist in the press box questioned where the Chelsea from last season had gone. Indeed, it was against Swansea at the Liberty where we saw them at their awesome best in 2014/15, with a performance full of razzmatazz teaching the Swans a harsh lesson.
Back in January 2015, Chelsea were thrashing Swansea 5-0 in south Wales. Fifteen months on, they were lacking in every department, devoid of inspiration.
Having Costa lead the line that day helped—as it has for much of Hiddink's reign. The Spain international imposes himself on matches, constantly probing and asking questions. He was missing this game as he served the last game of his three-match ban after picking up a red card against Everton in the FA Cup in March—a suspension that came about for the things we often praise him for.
Costa's suspension is a sign of why Pato just doesn't seem to fit into this Chelsea lineup, though. For everything Costa is, Pato is the opposite. He didn't work hard enough against Swansea; he wasn't running the channels or working the centre-backs with enough frequency to create space for those in attacking midfield to exploit.
The desire didn't seem to be there. Most worryingly of all, the ability to lead the line in the Premier League wasn't, either.
From that promising debut against Aston Villa, we saw more of why Pato has dropped completely off the radar. He simply isn't effective enough, and to be an asset to Chelsea, he needs to offer something the club doesn't already have. Being a prolific goalscorer would be a start.
Pato's not a striker in the same way Costa is, and he doesn't have the attributes to complement his team-mate. Youngster Traore has shown glimpses of being able to do that, whereas Pato looks lost. We're still questioning whether he could lead the line of play as a second frontman.
When we consider the players elsewhere in this squad, it's difficult to imagine Pato competing against Pedro Rodriguez, Eden Hazard and Willian for a place in behind Costa. Indeed, throw Ruben Loftus-Cheek into the mix, and that area of Chelsea's attack looks even more congested.
Loftus-Cheek has been the name on the tip of every Chelsea fan's tongue this season. They've been desperate to see him in action and establish himself at Stamford Bridge. To his credit, Hiddink is giving the 20-year-old his chance, and in so doing, he's showing up the likes of Pato.
We're used to seeing Loftus-Cheek in a deeper role, but Hiddink has played him as a No. 10 in Chelsea's two most recent outings. He's look accomplished, though he's faced opponents not at the same level as those Chelsea will face against Manchester City on Saturday.
What Loftus-Cheek has lacked in the creative side of the game we expect to see from a player in that position, he's made up for in endeavour and presence. That's been key; against Villa, he bamboozled the back line to score Chelsea's opening goal and have a real influence on the game.
Facing Swansea's more disciplined and organised defence, he was often running into cul-de-sacs. The important thing was he demonstrated a desire to make something happen. He was probing, looking for the options that weren't there, trying to unlock Swansea.
Pato didn't do enough of that. He was perhaps playing a role that isn't designed with him in mind, but the least Hiddink would have asked for is to mirror what we saw from Loftus-Cheek. It was only when Traore came on that Chelsea seemed to have more presence through the middle with their frontman.
And that should concern Pato. His move to Stamford Bridge is a temporary one, with the onus on him to make enough noise to convince the club he's deserving of another opportunity to crack it in Europe.
When he returned to Brazil from AC Milan as 23-year-old, it was a sign of where his career was headed. It's at that age when players are expected to be going the other way, so Pato broke the mould.
It's just two games for him in a Chelsea shirt, yet we're seeing the same problems that meant he didn't become an established name in Europe the first time around.
Three years have passed, but not much seems to have changed.
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes.
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