Mateo Kovačić vs Man Utd - a tactical analysis thread:

The Set-Up

•After being alarmed by the 8 goals conceded in their last 3 away trips vs West Ham,Palace+Sheff Utd, Lampard reverted to 3-4-3 - a big game formula that had served him well in wins vs Spurs (x2) & Arsenal

With Kovačić in the midfield double pivot alongside Jorginho

On-the-ball

•Generally Lampard wants Chelsea to play out from the back with a short passing game & keep the option of going long to Abraham/Giroud as secondary
- this needs midfielders who are willing to take the ball in tight spaces under pressure

Something Kovačić often does

•The other key to helping Chelsea to play out from the back is Kovačić's body position - he almost always ensures he's receiving the ball on the half-turn having scanned the layout of the field around him

- this means he's frequently in a good position to turn out of the pressure being applied to him and then play a forward pass to a teammate in space and penetrate the opposition press

•However,sometimes Kovačić may not even be in a good position to receive the ball, yet teammates still often pass it him as they know how agile he is at turning out of pressure in tight spaces. He's often such a 'safe' passing option his teammates can turn to when under pressure

•Kovačić is also good at manipulating passing angles for himself in deep build-up positions- here Man Utd are organised well & blocking all passing lanes, but Kovačić's quality close control & dribbling to his left,opens up a passing lane into Giroud which was previously blocked

•Always looking for the line-breaking forward pass- there are many players who simply look to recycle possession. Not Kovačić

Here you see he has two fairly simple passes to Jorginho & James

But the pass most don't see but Kovačić does is the pass to Mount in between the lines

• Dribbling - a midfielder who progresses the ball by taking opposition midfielders out the game with dribbling is such a valuable asset, particularly in transition when it then allows the team to attack a disorganised opposition defence
- This is exactly what Kovačić provides

- Here, Kovačić has both Fred & Bruno closing him down - he takes both out the game with one dribble & Chelsea can directly attack the Man Utd defence

- Kovačić completed 4/4 dribbled vs Man Utd - more than any other player on the pitch

• The fake passing lane
-here Rashford is closing down the passing option to Azpilicueta
-so Kovačić shapes his body as if he'll pass into Jorginho
-Rashford closes down Jorginho
-this leaves Azpi in space to receive the ball

This is something Busquets has excelled at for years

Off-the-ball

• When playing a 3-4-3, it's key for the midfielders in the double pivot to be able to push up and support a high press to ensure there is less space for the opposition to exploit behind the press

Kovačić showed his energy & intelligence to do this several times

• Winning 2nd balls - Kovačić has the defensive intelligence to anticipate where loose balls will go & then the physicality to get there and dominate the duel like he does with Bruno here

This has the effect of stopping Chelsea getting countered & penning the opposition into their own half. The other player in the Premier League who excels at such a trait is LFC's Fabinho

•He also has the aggression to win aerial 2nd balls too like he does with Bruno again here

• We talked about Kovačić's physical capacity to push up & support a high press, but he also has the intelligence to drop off & track runners
- here he initially pushes up to cut off a pass to Fred, but as soon as Fred makes a run beyond him, he tracks him & intercepts the pass

- Kovačić made 5 interceptions in the game - the most of any player on the pitch

Tactical Role

•With Man Utd sitting off Chelsea for most of the first half - it was the direct, forward passing of Kovačić in these kind of deeper areas, which enabled Chelsea to penetrate Man Utd's defensive lines

- Kovačić made 2 backwards passes during the whole game!

•In a midfield double pivot with Jorginho who prefers to dictate play & sit in front of the defence,it's vital to have a partner who covers for his lack of mobility & tendency to defend deeper central zones.
-thus why Kovačić's athleticism was so key to implement Lampard's press

- but also when Mount drifted infield from the left as he often likes to do, Kovačić was the one covering out wide to defend attacks down Man Utd's right.
- His immense athleticism helps him to cover so much ground for such tactical roles like this

- Here is a map of the duels he competed in - you can see by the distribution of them all over the pitch, how much ground he was covering throughout the match

•In the 2nd half,Kovačić's offensive role changed as Man Utd had more possession (56%) & Chelsea defended deeper- they needed a way of relieving pressure & escaping their half

Chelsea have everyone inside their own half but Kovačić's ball-carrying allows them to launch counters

Summary
•Kovačić's ability to turn out of pressure & pass forwards was key in Chelsea's deep build-up
•His athleticism & intelligence meant he won duels & intercepted passes all over the pitch
•In the 2nd half, his superb dribbling gave Chelsea a brilliant mechanism to counter

Retweets of the original post in the thread much appreciated if you enjoyed reading it. And any feedback always welcome. Thanks