'Not good' - Alan Shearer tells Chelsea star what he is doing wrong as drought continues

Chelsea picked up a huge win on Sunday when they saw off London rivals Fulham thanks to a late comeback started by Tyrique George and finished by Pedro Neto. The win means the Blues are back in the thick of the Champions League race, needing to finish in the top five, with five teams fighting for three places between third and fifth.

The Blues have been on a rotten run of late, so the late goals were pivotal as they scratched and clawed for some sort of confidence, though a couple of their players are still in that battle. Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson can’t buy a goal at the moment, and the Blues need them more than ever as they head into their last five games of the season, facing the toughest run-in of the five teams involved in the race for Champions League football.

Speaking on Match of the Day 2, Alan Shearer dissected the pair’s struggle for goals, saying: “They were very different halves and they were really struggling in the forward positions, Chelsea. When you consider Cole Palmer hasn’t scored in 16 games, Nicolas Jackson hasn’t scored in 13 games and it just wasn’t working for them again for whatever reason.

“They lost the ball far too easily, they weren’t really a threat in front of goal. If Jackson makes a run there (into the box while Cucurella had it out wide), towards the penalty spot, it makes it so much easier for Cucurella to put that ball in there.

“But he has to pass it backwards and then Palmer loses it again and then Fulham are on the attack. It happened so many times. When the ball goes up there, it has to stick. I really haven’t got a clue what he’s trying to do here (below). He has got options but I’m not sure even he knows what he’s doing when he gets into that position. That’s basically not good enough.”

Asked about the impact of 19-year-old George, who sparked the comeback with an excellent low strike from the edge of the box, Shearer added: “Everything was breaking down and the manager makes a change. He brings young Tyrique George on, 19 years old, and all of a sudden, that change changes the game.”

Chelsea are just goal difference ahead of Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest - with the latter playing on Monday night - a point behind Manchester City and two behind Newcastle United in third. The Blues clearly have the most difficult run-in of the lot, while they also have two Conference League semi-final dates to negotiate with along the way.

The Blues need to find a run of form and quickly, hoping the Fulham win can spark the sort of form we saw from them early in the season. But Shearer doesn’t think it’s likely, even with the unpredictability that comes with this time of year.

“Chelsea have got the toughest run-in, do you think?” he said. “It’s hard enough to predict results anyway but at this stage of the season it’s almost impossible. But my guess will be maybe Chelsea and Nottingham Forest may miss out.”

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