Chelsea look like a broken club, says Jamie Carragher after Blues suffer sixth consecutive Premier League defeat | Soccer News

Chelsea look like a broken club, according to Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher.

The Blues were booed by their own supporters at Stamford Bridge after a heavily rotated Nottingham Forest side, who are battling Premier League relegation, handed Chelsea a sixth consecutive league defeat.

The 3-1 result was a shock as Forest boss Vitor Pereira made eight changes to his line-up ahead of their Europa League semi-final with Aston Villa on Thursday.

But Chelsea, whose FA Cup semi-final last time out at Wembley shook off the miserable run of form that cost Liam Rosenior his job, trailed after 97 seconds, two down after 15 minutes and conceded a third just seven minutes after the break. For Joao Pedro, halftime was nothing more than a consolation.

Chelsea, managed by inexperienced interim boss Calum McFarlane, are ninth in the Premier League, 10 points off fifth-placed Villa in the final Champions League qualifying spot – a position they can no longer reach with three games to play.

A Villa Europa League win and a fifth-place finish for Unai Emery’s side could still bring Champions League football to the side who finish sixth in the Premier League. Chelsea are four points clear of currently sixth-placed Bournemouth – but they seriously doubt they will secure any European football at all for next season.

“It’s shocking and it’s coming from the top,” Carragher said.

“There are five or six really top players on the pitch today and they were beaten by Nottingham Forest’s B team.

“Less than 12 months ago they took PSG to the cleaners.

“There is no connection between the players and the staff, the players and the fans.

“In some ways it’s a good thing because it tells you that football is not just about spending money, buying players and this revolving door.

“It’s about creating cohesion and there’s none there. They look like a broken football club at the moment.”

Elaborating further on Monday Night Football, Carragher said: “For that type of spending (on players), they should be a challenge for the league and go close and go to the latter stages of the Champions League.

“We’re talking about a team that’s won it twice in the last 15 or 20 years, so they’re no minnows – they’re a big club in European football.

“A few years ago I said players should stop signing for Chelsea. I still stand by that but it wasn’t about the individual players and that I have something against Chelsea.

“My point is that if you are constantly buying and selling players, you can never create a connection as a team. You have to go through things together.

“They buy two wings every year, so the two they bought the year before, how do they feel? You can’t go into a club and be amazing straight away – you have to build something and grow as a group with a manager and players. It’s a continuous conveyor belt.

“If I was a young player, why would I sign for Chelsea? They would give me 12 months and if I’m not great, they’ll go and sign someone else.

“How do you build a connection between players, fans and staff? It’s not there.”

McFarlane: ‘First 15 minutes unacceptable’

Interim Chelsea boss Calum McFarlane branded his side’s opening 15 minutes “unacceptable” – the same word Rosenior used to describe their previous Premier League performance in a 3-0 defeat at Brighton, which cost him his job.

“Really disappointed with the performance, disappointed with the result, I don’t think we ever got to our level today that we know we’re capable of,” he said.

“I thought the first 15 minutes we were nowhere near the level we needed to be. The early goal was a bit of a blow and we didn’t seem to really recover from that moment.

“It was a three-on-one at the back post. We know they like to go to the back post, we know the No.9 likes to peel to the back post and we should have defended that moment better. Really disappointing. I thought we defended that moment really well (against) Leeds at Wembley and I just don’t think we recovered from that moment well enough.

“When we did recover and have our moments, Enzo hits the posts, Cole misses a penalty, Joao’s offside goal… when you start that badly, you need those moments to go your way, to give you a chance to fight back in the game.

“The first 15 minutes were unacceptable.”

However, McFarlane added that he remains optimistic the team can still finish the season strong.

“I know the squad, I’ve known them for a while now and they’re driven, they want what’s best for themselves, they want what’s best for this club and we’re going to do everything we can to try and win every game we can from now until the end of the season,” he said.

Pedro feels sorry for Chelsea fans after Forest defeat and eye improvement

Joao Pedro admitted he felt sorry for Chelsea fans after defeat to Forest extended their desperate run.

“We conceded too early from the start which made it really difficult to turn the game around,” says Pedro. “We have to find a way not to make these mistakes every game.

“This is the Premier League. If you concede very early, it’s hard to come back. Everyone has to look at themselves, myself included, to find a way to do better. I feel sorry for the fans. We have to look at where we can improve.

“Everyone has to step up, myself included. We always talk to each other to find a way to win games. Last week we beat Leeds, this week it didn’t happen. We have to find a way to be consistent.

“I think the motivation is always there. We still have to fight for every point, every game and in the end we can see what we can achieve.”