Welcome to Chelsea, Todd Boehly you probably have some questions. Let us explain

Welcome to Chelsea, Todd Boehly.

As far as presents to celebrate the occasion of agreeing terms to take over the club go, the LA Dodgers co-owner must have wished for something a bit more satisfying than seeing his new side contrive to turn three points into just one at home against Wolves, who sealed a 2-2 draw deep into stoppage time.

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Sitting in one of the fancy VIP boxes in the West Stand at Stamford Bridge, Boehly had a great view of the drama that unfolded. Just like his predecessor Roman Abramovich, the American couldn’t hide his emotion during the match. At times, he didn’t appear to understand what was going on. That’s where, with an element of tongue-in-cheek, The Athletic can help with some explanations.

Chelsea can’t keep clean sheets any more

Don’t get comfortable whenever Chelsea are in the lead, Todd. Someone may have told you that the Champions League victory last year was built on the foundations of a strong back line. It was also a major factor in the team leading the Premier League until early December this season.

But that is a thing of the past.

Chelsea have kept opponents scoreless just 15 times in the last 39 matches. Individual mistakes and/or being caught out of shape happens on a regular basis. Confidence is low, which is why they looked so rattled after Wolves substitute Francisco Trincao made the score 2-1 with 11 minutes to go. Wolves also showed that Chelsea have lost their fear factor — no one is afraid to take the game to them and go on the attack.

Werner usually gets penalised in the final third

If Werner ends up staying at Stamford Bridge next season, get used to hearing the sound of the referee’s whistle when the German is on the attack. His ability has come under scrutiny since joining from RB Leipzig in 2020 but he’s not the luckiest forward, either.

The 26-year-old’s finishing always seems to be at its best when the goal doesn’t count. Normally, it’s an offside flag that denies him. Against Wolves, it was due to what looked like the slightest of touches on Romain Saiss, which sent this supposedly strong centre-half sprawling to the turf, and it was judged a foul.

Inevitably, when Werner wasn’t caught doing something wrong by a match official, he didn’t make the most of the opportunity to shoot or set up a team-mate.

VAR makes it hard to celebrate too wildly too soon

The look of confusion on your face said it all. Ruben Loftus-Cheek had scored to seemingly put Thomas Tuchel’s team in front and you were up on your feet cheering, applauding and whistling, only for the goal to be disallowed following a good three or four minutes of a TV replay being studied.

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The practice of using technology to review decisions won’t be foreign to you — it’s commonplace in American sports – but even though Loftus-Cheek was rightly ruled offside, the ridiculously long wait to make a ruling was jeered by both Chelsea and Wolves supporters.

Captain America doesn’t have a starring role yet

Christian Pulisic is a huge figure in the sport across the Atlantic; no wonder, due to his impressive return of 21 goals in 48 caps for the United States. Yet the forward is still waiting to find such consistency after three years at Chelsea.

Playing behind the front two against Wolves, there was some good, some bad. An example of the former was the quick and perfect pass to set up Romelu Lukaku for his second goal, but there were many occasions when Pulisic didn’t make the most of getting possession in a dangerous area.

Be prepared to find more cash

Your consortium has committed to investing £1.75 billion in the club over the next 10 years, a sizeable sum that should certainly be welcomed. But given that money is being put, as the club’s statement confirmed, towards “Stamford Bridge, the academy, the women’s team and Kingsmeadow, and continued funding for the Chelsea Foundation”, that figure doesn’t sound quite as grand when you consider it’s going to be spread over the next decade.

You had a good view of the extent of the work needed on the stadium but now you are surely seeing that the men’s first team needs a lot of funding too if they are to challenge Manchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League title any time soon.

Chelsea’s run of eight points from the last seven games shows they are just part of the chasing pack, rather than a member of the elite. It’s going to take good business in the transfer windows to change that.

And that’s before you consider that Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and possibly even captain Cesar Azpilicueta could all leave the club this summer.

Lukaku has rarely played like this

Pressing opponents, showing hunger, desire and a major goal threat — where has this Romelu Lukaku been? While it would be a bit of a stretch to say the Belgian played like a £97.5 million striker against Wolves, he at least looked the part.

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Lukaku is now the club’s leading scorer in all competitions with 14 goals. The club’s fans seem to have forgiven him for the controversial interview he gave to Sky Italia in the winter, plus his underwhelming displays since then, judging by the way they sang his name and applauded him when Tuchel substituted him late on.

But don’t get carried away just yet, Todd — this could just be a one-off.

Tuchel is human and makes mistakes

No need to worry about the quality of the head coach: Chelsea have one of the best in the game but some of his Midas touch has gone missing of late, with strange team selections and the use of the substitutes’ bench rarely paying off.

For example, one doubts there were many people in the ground who thought introducing Malang Sarr to defend a 2-1 lead with three minutes of normal time remaining would help secure the three points.

Bruce Buck has a lot to say

The Chelsea chairman spent most of half-time sitting next to you, doing most of the talking. Negotiations to buy the club are effectively over, so what was the conversation about?

One can only speculate but perhaps in light of what happened when Loftus-Cheek scored, he decided that VAR and the offside rule needed to be explained. Or maybe Buck was highlighting just how much the underperforming players on the pitch are earning a week.

One thing is for sure: Buck has shown over the years at Chelsea that he isn’t shy to express an opinion. If he remains, these kinds of debriefs might become the norm.

Sunglasses won’t be required too often

As co-owner of the LA Dodgers, wearing shades might be required on a regular basis but it’s not quite so necessary in London. You started out watching the Wolves fixture with sunglasses on but understandably soon realised they weren’t required even on a mild day in May. You’d best get used to that.

(Top photo: Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images)

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