Chelsea has the Blues

This weekend marked Chelsea's third loss in four Premier League games, which has caused a general panic throughout west London. As a fan, this loss was particularly disheartening because the opposition was not that strong. A loss at Old Trafford is forgivable, and a loss away to QPR while playing with nine men could also be written off. Even the recent loss to Arsenal had positives in it, despite the awful defending. But this loss against a Liverpool team that isn't very good, and did not play particularly well, raises some questions about the Chelsea team going forward. The movement in the first half was just slow. There was no pace in the buildup whatsoever, and regardless of who you are playing in the Premier League, you are not going to score with that type of pace. The two goals conceded were both sloppy, and isolated from any real Liverpool pressure. The game was generally absent of any type of sustained pressure, although Chelsea did have times where they held Liverpool back. But Liverpool's first goal came on general sloppy play at the back, with most of the blame falling on John Obi Mikel, who did not look like a Premier League player once during his forty-five minutes on the pitch. The second goal was created from a pretty piece of play from Charlie Adam, but Ashley Cole is badly beaten by a right-back while the rest of team watched. I don't understand the lethargic play - Chelsea have not been overrun by fixtures at this point in the season so they should still be fresh. Is it the age issue many commentators continue to mention? Who knows, but the squad still need to regroup quite a bit after these last two defeats. For Liverpool, this is a step in the right direction, as they were able to grind out the win. The Reds did do something they have often failed to do - take their chances when they arose. Kuyt was guilty of scuffing a shot well wide in the second half, but other than that, Liverpool had two chances and took them both. There still is much to be desired, because the midfield play is still below par. But to win on a day in which Luis Suarez was completely ineffective is a strong sign for Liverpool moving forward.

That result leaves Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool, and Arsenal all level on points, but Spurs do have two games in hand. The third and fourth Champions League spots are wide open, as the Manchester clubs have taken a hold of the first two spots. Newcastle finally dropped their first game of the season, falling 3-1 to Manchester City. This is not a bad setback for Newcastle, but it could be the start of a plummet down the table. The most impressive team of the weekend looked like QPR, who claimed a 3-2 win at the Britannia against Stoke. In a very difficult environment to score, never mind win, QPR came through with a very positive approach and took all three points. Since playing very poorly in their 1-0 win over Chelsea, QPR have been impressive in a 3-2 loss to Manchester City and this win over Stoke. The R's still have a good shot at a top of the table finish as they continue to improve.

Tottenham and Aston Villa kicking off in fifteen minutes - should be a good game, and one I would expect Tottenham to win to leap above their rivals on 22 points. Villa have some good players but have lacked any finishing touch in the final third. Spurs could be a bit beleaguered from the international break, but they should come through this game on top.