Chelsea were beaten by Bayern Munich in their opening Champions League game of the season on Wednesday evening.
The reigning FIFA Club World Cup champions fell behind at the Allianz Arena in the 20th minute when Trevoh Chalobah found his own net. Harry Kane doubled his side’s lead shortly after before Cole Palmer halved the deficit.
Kane notched his second just after the hour-mark and, despite Chelsea’s best efforts, there were no further goals as Bayern ran out 3-1 victors.
Owen Hargreaves Questions Chelsea Duo Following Bayern Defeat
Owen Hargreaves was covering the game as a pundit on TNT Sports. While he said that Chelsea’s centre-back duo, Chalobah and Tosin Adarabioyo, did okay against the likes of Kane and Luis Diaz, he urged Chelsea to buy a centre-back in the January transfer window.
“If I think back to those Chelsea teams that won everything, they had Petr Cech, [Ricardo] Carvalho, John Terry – that’s the basis of any team,” Hargreaves said, per the Metro.
“I think the midfield three is almost as good as anyone – Enzo [Fernandez], [Moises] Caicedo and Cole Palmer – but I still think they’ll probably address that in the coming windows. I think there’s a nucleus there that’s going to be really special for Chelsea and today just highlighted that.
“It’s not a criticism, it’s just a fact and I thought the two young centre-backs did okay but we’re talking about [Luis] Diaz, [Michael] Olise and Kane, some of the top performers, it was a big ask for them but mistakes cost them more than anything.
“But I do think if they can address that centre-back position, even though they’ve got [Wesley] Fofana and [Levi] Colwill, two fabulous players, I think they need a little bit more experience as one of those players.”
Hargreaves Urges Chelsea to Sign Marc Guehi
Joe Cole was working alongside Hargreaves and he shared the same opinion. He said: “I go back to it and I’ve been banging the drum for it, if you had senior central defender in that group…”
Hargreaves then shared his belief that Chelsea should re-sign Marc Guehi. The English defender joined the Blues in his youth and spent 14 years there before departing in 2021. Now 25, Hargreaves thinks he could take Chelsea’s defence to the next level. He said:
“Marc Guehi… I know he was a Chelsea academy boy but somebody like that, super reliable, you can just pop him in, mentor the young boys.
“I think having these young guys is amazing but having a mentor, we all had them as young kids coming through, I think probably need that Thiago Silva type, maybe a bit younger, just to help these young guys in a game like this, away from home in Munich where it’s very challenging.”
Guehi looked almost certain to join Liverpool on transfer deadline day but the move fell through after Crystal Palace pulled the plug. The defender, who has been capped 25 times by England, could be available for cheap in January with his contract expiring next summer.