Branislav Ivanovic says Chelsea need to snap out of their lethargy as the sputtering English champions bid to get back on track against Maccabi Tel Aviv on Wednesday.
Jose Mourinho's embattled side start their Uefa Champions League campaign in need of a victory after a traumatising period that has left their Premier League title defence in tatters.
A 3-1 defeat at Everton on Saturday condemned Chelsea to their third defeat in their past four matches and left them already 11 points behind leaders Manchester City.
They lost only three in the league in the whole of last season and the current sequence constitutes the club’s worst start to a top-tier season since 1986.
Ivanovic, the Chelsea defender, tried to strike a positive tone, suggesting the team’s performances have not been as bad as the results would indicate.
But he acknowledged they have made costly mistakes that must be eradicated if they are to get back in the title race and mount a strong challenge for the Champions League.
“We need one big win to come back to our way,” Ivanovic said. “We are not playing as badly as the results are showing but we have to wake up.
“I think at the moment we are being punished for all our mistakes.
“The only way we can change is to work hard and be ready for the next game, so it is like a final and we have to play like a final.”
Ordinarily, a home fixture against a Maccabi outfit perceived as the weakest team in a group also featuring Porto and Dynamo Kiev would be regarded as a welcome opportunity to record a big win and restore flagging confidence.
Chelsea’s turbulent start has some fans worried that Mourinho is about to be haunted by the ghosts of his first spell at the club.
In 2007, Chelsea went into their Champions League opener against Norway’s Rosenborg in disarray after a poor run in the Premier League, as Mourinho engaged in a power struggle with owner Roman Abramovich.
That fixture, which ended in a tepid draw in front of a half-empty Stamford Bridge, turned out to be the final match of Mourinho’s first stint; he was sacked the next day.
Mourinho is said to have a stronger relationship with Abramovich now and is only four months removed from winning Chelsea’s first English title for five years, but Ivanovic conceded everyone at the club could do with a sustained winning run to ease the mounting pressure.
“The next game is very important for us. It is a new competition and it is time to change all this situation. I hope we will start winning the games soon,” Ivanovic said.
After a draw with Swansea City and a defeat against Crystal Palace in their two matches at Stamford Bridge this season, Chelsea face the Israeli double-winners still awaiting a first win in front of their home supporters.
Hoping to plot Chelsea’s downfall this time is the familiar figure of Slavisa Jokanovic, a former midfielder with the club from 2000 to 2002 who took over as Maccabi manager in the summer.
Jokanovic led Watford to promotion to the Premier League last term before leaving over a contract dispute and he would love to remind English football of his qualities as he returns with Maccabi, who are back in the Champions League after a 10-year absence.
"I watched their defeats against Everton and Crystal Palace. It is a shock to see Chelsea start like this," he told the Evening Standard.
“We are not arriving as tourists and coming for a shopping trip in London. We are going to fight and try and cause another surprise.”
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