Chelsea seek a swift recovery from back-to-back losses: Richard Buxton
Jorginho's place in jeopardy after costing the Blues victories in last 2 matches
Alisson's stoppage-time heroics against West Bromwich Albion have thrown Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel a dilemma.
With his late header, the goalkeeper secured a 2-1 win for Liverpool yesterday morning (Singapore time), turning up the heat on the fourth-placed Chelsea in the battle for a top-four spot.
| CHELSEA | LEICESTER CITY |
While the Brazilian custodian received the plaudits, the same could not be said of his former Serie A rival, who's now at Stamford Bridge.
Twice in the past week, Jorginho has cost the Blues crucial victories in their Champions League qualification bid and the FA Cup final through serious lapses in concentration.
A misplaced back-pass allowed Arsenal to snatch the spoils in a London Derby, before failing to track his runner at Wembley gifted Youri Tielemans a match-winning strike.
His role in the loss to Mikel Arteta's misfits livened up the hunt for the final places in Europe's elite club competition next season, with the Reds poised to steal in at the last.
Not only are Juergen Klopp's fallen champions finding form at the right time in their bid for five successive top-four finishes, but they also do so with a knack for winning games in unlikely circumstances, as shown by Alisson's enterprising finish at The Hawthorns.
Liability has been a recurring theme throughout Jorginho's Stamford Bridge career, but serious questions are now being posed as Tuchel's side prepare to entertain Brendan Rodgers' newly minted FA Cup winners in their English Premier League showdown tomorrow.
Chelsea legend Joe Cole is among those arguing the case against him being included for his old club's remaining games, including next weekend's Champions League final.
The 29-year-old's fallback plan of following Maurizio Sarri, the man who brought him to west London, to whichever club appoints him next has backfired spectacularly, with the veteran Italian coach still out of work since being jettisoned by Juventus last summer.
He previously embodied everything that was good and ill about the "Sarri-ball" revolution. Depending on results, he was either its default proponent or scapegoat.
Growing up, he spent afternoons refining midfield skills by training on sand, but those techniques did little to stop him from resembling a player wading through treacle now.
Even as a deep-lying playmaker, Jorginho still carries severe limitations. His creative output is restricted almost exclusively to penalties, while a lack of pace makes turning defence into attack from the engine room a struggle.
What the Brazil-born Italy international offers Tuchel as an enforcer is far outweighed by those technical deficiencies.
With stakes already at an all-time high, both in Chelsea's top-four quest and going toe-to-toe with Manchester City in Porto, the German cannot afford to be charitable.
Mateo Kovacic's return from injury provides his manager with a useful escape clause from his Jorginho-shaped predicament.
Tuchel extolled the qualities of the Croat as well as midfield partner N'Golo Kante and young understudy Billy Gilmour.
Tellingly, Jorginho did not receive a namecheck in that honour roll despite being a semi-automatic choice in Chelsea's starting line-up during Kovacic's absence.
A languid, costly holding player who arrived from Serie A going up against a genuine midfield dynamo is hardly a new phenomenon at the Bridge; Kovacic is simply reprising the role of Frank Lampard while Jorginho finds himself cast as Juan Sebastian Veron.
History dictates that the Croat will win that battle in the long run, but Tuchel needs to prioritise the immediate term if his debut half-season with Chelsea is to be a success.
If he fails to heed the warning, their top-four fate will be taken out of his hands.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now