Chelsea are without Thiago Silva for tonight’s Champions League trip to face Krasnodar.
The experienced Brazilian has been key to two consecutive clean sheets against Sevilla and Manchester United.
But his gametime needs to be managed carefully during a frantic season and he hasn’t made the trip to Russia.
As per the Evening Standard, fellow Blues defender Kurt Zouma said his team-mates don’t have anything to prove with regards keeping a clean sheet without the Brazilian.
“He brings experience,” said Zouma of Silva. “We know he’s been winning a lot of trophies.
“It’s great for us. He brings calm and all of his experience. Of course Thiago Silva has been good since he came, but before that we were doing good too.
“There’s nothing to prove. The last two games we did well to get the clean sheets but that’s just two games. We want to keep doing that and we have to work to get clean sheets.”
Chelsea have had two 3-3 draws already this season, adding to defensive concerns which mounted last term.
Silva’s arrival has been huge in terms of settling Chelsea down and Zouma is wrong to say that there is nothing to prove in terms of showing they can be consistently solid without him.
Last season, Chelsea weren’t secure, and that’s why Frank Lampard has turned to a short-term fix to sort that out.
On the games Silva can’t play, the likes of Zouma must show what they’ve learned from working alongside him and offer calm, assured performances.
Otherwise, Chelsea will be the same topsy-turvy side as last season. They have to prove that won’t be the case when Silva isn’t there, starting tonight.
