Chelsea assistant manager Gianfranco Zola has admitted that both Gary Cahill and Andreas Christensen were not up to the mark with their distribution in the first half of the win over Derby County on Wednesday.
The Blues registered a nervy 3-2 win over Frank Lampard’s Derby County to book their place in the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup on Wednesday night at Stamford Bridge.
Maurizio Sarri’s men were made to work hard by a determined Derby side that gave their all to try and come out on top at the end of proceedings on a special night for their manager.
Chelsea struggled due to their frailties at the back with both Cahill and Christensen looking rusty during the build-up to the goals they conceded and Derby counted themselves unfortunate not to score more on the night.
Zola admitted that the Chelsea duo were not up to the mark in terms of distribution in the first half and insisted that the Blues will certainly look into the matter to try and avoid such instances moving forward.
“A player like Cahill, they play and then they don't for a while, so they might have a problem”, Zola told reporters in a post-match press conference.
“When I said we didn't play well, I didn't mean the defenders didn't defend well.
"The way we play everyone has to participate in the defensive phase. Some things didn't work.
“I thought Gary and Christensen in the first half could have done better with the ball.
“Normally their distribution is better than tonight.
"That's the complaint I can make about that.
"But we'll go through this and discuss it.”
Chelsea will next face Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Sunday in the Premier League as they aim to maintain their unbeaten start to the season.
