Chelsea vs. Liverpool: Blues Show They Have Long Way to Go in Loss to Reds

Chelsea's fleeting hopes of contending for the top of the table in the English Premier League took another big hit on Sunday with a 2-1 defeat to Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, dropping Andre Villas-Boas' side to 0-3 against other domestic giants and 12 points back of first-place Manchester City.

The setback leaves AVB as the first Chelsea loss since Claudio Ranieri to steer the squad to two consecutive home losses and raises questions about whether he will survive in that role long enough to placate Roman Abramovich's trophy-laden expectations.

Villas-Boas' strategy, particularly against the Reds, left the door open for questioning. Chelsea's high defensive line, victimized throughout the season by opposing attacks, once again came under fire, with Maxi Rodriguez undressing it early and all too often. Chelsea's attack also left much to be desired, as AVB left Fernando Torres and Daniel Sturridge on the bench until the second half. 

Realistically, though, as talented as the Blues are, this is and always should've been considered a work-in-progress. AVB is no less brilliant a football mind now than he was last season, when he led Porto to a perfect run through Portugal's Primeira Liga and the UEFA Europa League Cup.

The challenge for him, as it's been all along, is to figure out how best to orchestrate a more Iberian style of play while integrating new boys like Sturridge, Juan Mata, David Luiz and Raul Meireles with longtime club stalwarts, including Didier Drogba, John Terry, John Obi Mikel, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole.

Dealing with all of that talent is a good problem to have, but a problem nonetheless, especially in a league as competitive and loaded with top-tier clubs and players as the EPL. AVB has certainly figured that out in a hurry, with losses to traditional powers like Man U, Arsenal and now Liverpool on his club's resume, alongside less-than-ideal results against Stoke City and QPR.

Villas-Boas' introduction to English football has been a baptism by fire, though the hard lessons learned should serve him and Chelsea well over the long haul.

And, luckily for the Blues, much of that haul has yet to be played. They'll have no shortage of opportunities to turn things around and get back into the league championship race between now and mid-May, when the 2011-12 season comes to a close. T

he next month or so, in particular, will prove crucial to the club as a sort of midseason evaluation before Villas-Boas and chairman Bruce Buck look to retool the roster during the January transfer window.

In short, the season is far from lost for Chelsea, though, with a stretch of fixtures against Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester City and Tottenham on tap for late November until mid-December, AVB would be wise to get his troops back on the right track sooner rather than later.