Chelsea is having a difficult start to the Premier League season, earning only seven points from their first five games. The team recently fell 3-0 to Brentford, marking their third consecutive league loss and continuing a poor run of form that has left them in tenth place in the table. The defeat also means Chelsea has yet to record a clean sheet this season, having conceded multiple goals in every match so far. Former Chelsea captain John Terry has criticized the team’s defensive strategy, particularly the use of zonal marking during set-pieces. Zonal marking involves players defending specific areas of the field rather than tracking specific opponents. Terry argues that this approach leaves the defense vulnerable, especially in aerial challenges. He believes a shift back to man-to-man marking—where each defender is responsible for a specific opponent—could help the team perform better in these situations. Terry pointed out that Brentford capitalized on the defensive setup, with smaller defenders failing to challenge taller opponents for headers. Defensive struggles from set-pieces have been a recurring issue for both Chelsea and Bournemouth since last season, with each team conceding 23 league goals in that time. Chelsea has now gone 21 matches without a clean sheet in the Premier League and has faced 72 shots in the top flight this season. Terry called the defensive record "unacceptable" and urged the team to return to more fundamental defensive tactics to improve their performance. The upcoming international break offers players a chance to rest and recover, but Terry acknowledged the challenges the team is currently facing. He praised the club’s academy for developing young talent, highlighting the debut of 17-year-old Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli, who came on as a late substitute against Brentford. Terry believes the club's youth prospects are of high quality and that the manager should be willing to give them more opportunities in the future.