‘I feel bad conceding so many goals’ – Chelsea can’t afford to be so defensively weak, admits Azpilicueta

Cesar Azpilicueta admits that Chelsea can’t afford to keep conceding such high numbers of goals if they want to achieve anything this season, as they begin their Champions League campaign against Sevilla on Tuesday night.

Chelsea go into the match having conceded three goals for the second time this season, as Southampton earned a deserved point at Stamford Bridge at the weekend with a late equaliser.

It is just the latest defensive mishap after the Blues conceded a record 54 goals last season, the most since Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003. Frank Lampard’s side have let in 1.5 goals per game on average since he was made the manager 18 months ago.

Azpilicueta didn’t shy away from the issue ahead of the match against his former international manager Julen Lopetegui at home on Tuesday night.

“What is clear is that if we want to fight for everything we have to improve defensively,” Azpilicueta told the pre-match press conference. “This is a problem we have to fix collectively and individually. Sometimes you can get away with it but you cannot rely every game on having to score three goals.

“You have to dig in and get a clean sheet. It’s very important for the confidence of the team to have this solidity. We have to start getting this consistency of not conceding goals. When you have the solidity defensively, it gives a boost to the whole team, to the attacking players to create chances.

“When you are defensively weak sometimes we feel like we have to score three or four goals every game. As a defender, I feel bad when you concede so many goals. We have to improve our personal mistakes and collectively take better decisions.

“Through the season you are not going to be playing beautiful football and winning three or four-nil every game. When you don’t you have to get results.”

Part of the problem has been an issue with the goalkeeper, as Kepa Arrizabalaga’s form continues to suffer. He was partly at fault for the second goal on Saturday afternoon.

Chelsea have signed Edouard Mendy to replace their record signing from 2018, but he got a thigh injury on international duty which saw the Spain international recalled.

Azpilicueta was key to Kepa adapting to the United Kingdom upon his arrival and he has known the goalkeeper for some time. He believes that his compatriot is doing everything he can to overcome a bad moment as he hopes for selection once again in Europe.

“In football, we have difficult times. In my position as captain, obviously, I know him from a long time ago. I always try to help him,” Azpilicueta added. “Sometimes you feel like everything goes against you. You have to have the character and personality to face it.

“I have no doubt Kepa will work hard to reverse the situation. The whole squad are fighting for targets as a collective. When you are a goalkeeper, it’s a completely different situation but he will keep working hard, giving his best.”

Chelsea enter the Champions League having been knocked out on the last four occasions at the last-16 stage. The latest defeat was a 7-1 aggregate loss to the eventual European champions Bayern Munich last season.

Since then, the Blues have looked to close the gap in the transfer market signing £220 million ($275m) worth of new talent including Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell and Timo Werner. Azpilicueta has played a role in welcoming them to the club and he is looking forward to competing better this season.

“In my role as captain, I tried to help whenever I can because we know how football works,” he added. “We didn’t have much time this pre-season. From my experience, I always tried to welcome them and integrate as quickly as possible.

“We have new faces from different countries and cultures. I try to mix all together and integrate and have that stability that we need. We know how the Champions League works and from the first day, we have to be ready for it.

“Since I first arrived in 2012 I always had the confidence and belief that we could fight for everything. It’s true we didn’t start the way we wanted to in the Premier League and the cup, but the Champions League is a completely new challenge. We have to be ready for it because we are going to play a strong team.”