Mikel Seeks New Approach For Chelsea

Nigeria’s John Mikel Obi has admitted that Chelsea will need to start trying a different approach to win games following their dip in form.

The Premier League champions are on a run of one win in six matches and have lost top spot in the table as a result.

Last  Saturday’s 1-1 draw at home to Everton saw manager Carlo Ancelotti criticise his team for playing too many long balls in the second half.

Mikel acknowledged that teams have started to come up with a tactic to prevent the Blues from exploiting the space afforded to them earlier in the season.

The Nigerian midfielder has now challenged Chelsea to develop different styles of play during games in order to break down their opponents.

“Other teams are trying to find a way to play against us,” said Mikel.

“Before, we could find a ball in behind for our strikers and we have the players in our team who can search for the strikers whenever they make a run.

“Teams are now trying to run with our strikers or stay goal-side, which makes it difficult for the rest of us to find those balls in behind all the time.

“So, we can keep doing it and they will keep reading our passes or we can look for a way to change some things, leave that for a little bit and go back to it if the space starts to open up in games again.”