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Newcastle vs Chelsea Tactical Review:
– Tammy's role at #9
– Kante's growing influence at DM
– Mount and Kovacic excelling as 8s
and more.
Disclaimer: All footage used is for educational purposes only. All copyrights belong to the Premier League/Chelsea FC.
– Tammy's role at #9
– Kante's growing influence at DM
– Mount and Kovacic excelling as 8s
and more.
Disclaimer: All footage used is for educational purposes only. All copyrights belong to the Premier League/Chelsea FC.
Newcastle were expected to provide a sturdy test for multiple reasons. Firstly, history- we had only taken 4 points out 21 against them at St. James' Park. Second, was their defensive 5-4-1 formation that sat deep and waited to play on the break.
However, Newcastle aren't very good as their formation suggests. Arrigo Sacchi said there should be no more than 5 meters between lines to kill space. Have a look at how Rennes played a 5-4-1 vs us. So little space that Werner has to drift wide and Mount has to drop deep.
Now look at Newcastle's 5-4-1 vs us. Almost twice as much as Rennes' space. Enough for Mount, Kova, Werner and Tammy all to drop inside and take a touch. This is a near fatal flaw vs agile, creative players. Kai would have run riot in this game. You can also see our 2-3-5 shape.
When Zouma is running with the ball, Newcastle have enough space for Kova to swim in. As soon as Ziyech drops in, they fail to get tight to him, and worse, two players get dragged towards him. Reece escapes Saint Maximin's attention and finds enough space to cross.
My design skills are shite but I'll try. Lets say the red space is where pressure is applied, and blue space is where the space is created. You can see here how Newcastle's haphazard pressing and the understanding between our players leads to creating vital space.
Let's watch the attack in real time. Notice how Kante, Kova, Ziyech and James all pull players towards them to invite pressure, opening up spaces elsewhere. Ziyech-James is such a deadly duo because they both can cross from wide or from half-space and they're always dangerous.
Fans claim side-to-side passing is boring, but there is always a purpose. When Reece gets the ball first time, Saint Maximin pressures him. The second time, Jamal Lewish pressures. The third time, both get confused and go after Reece, leaving Ziyech free for a great cross.
Biggest + for me was our #8s. Mount and Kova are encouraged to run beyond Abraham. The problems this causes is two-fold. First, the back 5 already has 5 to mark (3 CBs vs our front 3, WBs vs FBs) Mount's run has no designated marker, and Abraham uses the distraction to find space
Kovacic's identical run vs SHU. Sheffield played a back 5 in defence as well, and Kovacic's run forces them to forget Abraham, who escapes their attention and gets into space. He has enough time to set himself up and finish. This run from midfield is a nightmare to defend against
Many managers point out that a team is at its weakest in the first 3-5 secs of winning/losing the ball. Newcastle win the ball and Kova wins it back within 3, and as Newcastle struggle to reset, Mount plays it in to Abraham within 3. How Timo doesn't score we will never know.
Mount again showing how crucial he is off the ball. Again, within 3 seconds, he pressures the carrier out of the ball and Newcastle struggle to reset. Kante slots Werner in, and only a great save from Darlow keeps him out.
Few other moments when our 8s combined beautifully. This understanding between B2B/CM and adv. CM is crucial to a seamless 4-3-3. As the adv. mid, Mount makes a fantastic run in behind. Kova picks out an absolute peach. Mount should have scored, but the intent from Kova is great.
With Kante playing deeper and unable to press high without the risk of exposing the backline to a counter, the onus is on Mount and Kova to apply pressure and be aggressive from the front. Recoveries, tackles, interceptions were all there to see.
When Kante plays #8, he is an "offensive pivot," essentially roaming in front of the opposition defensive line, waiting to pounce on errors/hesitation/miscontrols. Vs Rennes, Jorgi played DM, and you can see how high Kante plays, presses and intercepts. https://twitter.com/CFCCentral1/status/1324976029216112640?s=19
As DM, he does not go as high as the opp. defense. Instead, he patrols their midfield line, which is slightly more difficult. Like I mentioned previously, the difference is that as an #8 Kante goes to the ball. As DM, Kante has to react, rather than act on his superb instincts
But make no mistake about it, no matter where you put Kante, when he is fit and injury free he is world class. Even though he doesnt have the advantage of instinctive anticipation while pressing the midfield, his recovery pace, timing and brilliance is unparalleled.
Has anyone else seen our improvement on a counter-counter? What is a counter-counter? When a team defends in numbers, they are harder to break down. But when they counter, they throw bodies forward, skewing their primary shape. Attacking when a counter fails is a counter-counter.
Newcastle defend in numbers and counter well, so there were opportunities to counter-counter. When the ball is won, the Kova-Mount partnership sparks to life again. Our pace up front is lethal, and you can see Timo and Tammy up against only 3 (as the WBs have gone up to counter.)
Newcastle knew we had lethal pace up front and we're reluctant to press or commit. But going a goal down changes it all. As soon as the corner is dealt with, Ziyech releases Timo, who leads the counter. My heart goes out to Tammy, who was breaking his neck to keep pace with Timo.
Note in the previous two instances Timo is integral to both, counters and counter-counters. Once Kova gets a touch, Timo goes turbo. Tammy again does superbly to keep up, and gets his reward. This is encouraging for Pulisic, whose pace on the break at LW is a similar threat.
People are saying Pulisic walks straight into the first team, which is far from the truth. Tammy has improved in every area, from hold up play, to linking up and even aerial duels. Going long to him seldom worked last season, but in this one he is doing a lot of things right.
His willingness to stretch the line was always an asset, but now he's learning to be more aware in certain situations. Here, his run is timed perfectly, and seeing as the angle was against him, he waits for an #8 to arrive into the box and lays it perfectly for him. Encouraging.
Even trivial things like this make a massive difference in the manager's perception. Here, the pass to him is poor. But instead of staying static, he charges down the ball and wins it back. Deserves every minute he is playing right now.
Overall, a good display against a largely average side. Rennes will play a similar shape in defence but will be better organized and more compact, so we have to turn up even sharper. They are also better on the counter, but this display was a good practice run.
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