Chelsea has fallen from peak to abyss in less than a year. This raises doubts about the club's specific strategy in its journey to return to the top European teams in a sustainable way.
Chelsea once received many compliments when they unexpectedly won the FIFA Club World Cup last summer, but their position as the number one team in the world always feels unconvincing.
Last season, they were not even the strongest team in England, and Paris Saint-Germain harshly reminded them that Chelsea was not yet up to par in Europe.
The 0-3 defeat at Stamford Bridge caused The Blues to lose 2-8 overall, becoming their heaviest defeat in the European arena after two legs.
The reigning Champions League champion PSG has cruelly exposed the long-standing weaknesses in Chelsea's squad, even before coach Liam Rosenior took office. This also partly explains why his position has not been threatened after the heavy defeat.
Chelsea's squad building strategy is always controversial, especially when they spent more than 1.5 billion pounds in less than 4 years under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. The relationship between Boehly and Behdad Eghbali once cracked, but the two still appeared together in the Stamford Bridge stands, showing signs of reconciliation.
What they witnessed was a disappointing performance of the team they built. Chelsea has long needed to upgrade in the center-back, goalkeeper and attacking positions. Losing Levi Colwill until the end of the season further exacerbates the problem, but clearly the limitations do not stop there.
Chelsea's hope of a comeback almost vanished after only 15 minutes, when defensive mistakes repeated - a familiar problem for them this season.
PSG showed terrifying cruelty with 8 shots, 5 on target and 3 goals. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's opening goal came from a simple situation: a long pass from Matvei Safonov that Mamadou Sarr could not stop.
Sarr - in his Champions League debut - had to play his unfamiliar right-back position due to the injuries of Reece James and Malo Gusto, but that was still a serious mistake. Similarly, Bradley Barcola's goal in the 15th minute showed that Chelsea had revealed too many gaps. All pre-match hopes quickly disappeared.
The atmosphere on the field also reflected dissatisfaction. Roman Abramovich's name was once again chanted by fans - like a symbol of the past period of success.
Despite being controversial, Abramovich is still remembered for helping Chelsea compete at the top. However, The Blues being fined 10.75 million pounds for financial violations in the past also shows that the period was not entirely perfect.
Chelsea has achieved many achievements: winning a Champions League spot, winning the UEFA Conference League and winning the FIFA Club World Cup. But they are still struggling in the process of rebuilding the post-Abramovich era.
The change took place rapidly with more than 50 new contracts. Rosenior is the fifth official head coach, while the squad includes many potential young players but lacks experience.
Both Mauricio Pochettino and Enzo Maresca previously emphasized the need to add experienced players, especially in the center-back position. However, Chelsea missed the deal for Jeremy Jacquet, who later joined Liverpool.
Sarr was called back from Strasbourg as a temporary solution, but the defense is still unstable. Wesley Fofana is on the bench, while the rotation between Robert Sanchez and Filip Jorgensen does not bring certainty. As a result, Chelsea has only kept a clean sheet in 1/14 recent matches.
Rosenior also caused controversy when he withdrew Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Joao Pedro before the 60th minute, as if wanting to "raise the white flag". This decision faced opposition from the audience. Just a few minutes later, Senny Mayulu scored the third goal, and many Chelsea fans left the field.
Chelsea now has to focus on the Premier League, where they are preparing to face Everton in a context where they are outside the top 5.
