Atalanta's De Ketelaere hints at Chelsea's weakness Enzo Maresca must address
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Atalanta midfielder Charles De Ketelaere claimed Chelsea's poor second-half defensive records gave them the confidence to mount a comeback in Tuesday's 2-1 Champions League win.
Chelsea tasted their second defeat in the Champions League this season, and this time, it forced them out of the top eight of the league phase table.
The visitors grabbed an early lead through Joao Pedro, but it went downhill in the second half.
Atalanta striker Gianluca Scamacca levelled the score 10 minutes after the break, before De Ketelaere turned the tide in the 83rd minute.
De Ketelaere said Atalanta believed they could make a comeback because of Chelsea's defensive record.
"I think we knew that intensity-wise, they would drop a little bit in the second half," the Belgium international told CBS Sports after the game.
"We saw that they got a lot of goals against them in the second half, so we kept (going) strong also because we felt good in the game, and you see it paid off.
Speaking in another interview with Atalanta's in-house media team, De Ketelaere even argued that the second half was rather a one-sided affair.
"We kept our cool because we knew they could concede in the second half," he explained.
"And in the second half, we were the only ones pushing to score.
"Winning against a team like that feels really good."
In other words, in addition to the defensive record, Chelsea's lack of attacking pressure in the second half also allowed Atalanta to feel comfortable in attack.
Before this game, Chelsea have conceded just six goals in the Champions League this season. Out of those six, only one came in the second half.
In the Premier League, on the other hand, Chelsea have had some trouble defending late in the game.
Chelsea have conceded 15 goals in the league, with eight of them in the second half.
Interestingly, four of those eight were during stoppage time, the fourth highest in the league in terms of goals conceded in this time frame.
Chelsea remain one of the best defensive teams in the Premier League, however, and it is their struggle on the other end of the pitch, with just three goals in the last four matches across all competitions, that should worry Enzo Maresca more.
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.