Chelsea v Wolves
Tactical analysis
Tactical analysis
Potter made a massive 7 changes to the team that played AC Milan in the midweek, setting up his team in a 4231 formation, similar to against Palace last week. It seems he was expecting a lowblock.
Chelsea's base setup was a 4231 but built up in a 343/352 formation with Cucurella tucking in to form a 3 at the back and Azpi going as wide as a wingback, Pulisic stayed wide at the Left. So it was a hybrid formation changing based on the game state.
The 2 or 3 in midfield also depended on Mount dropping deep to receive the ball or join the front 5.
Chelsea pressed in a 442 formation with Havertz and Mount the 2 up top, Mount usually man-marked Moutinho as he is important to Wolves trying to play out especially with Neves not available
This is how it looked in real-time with Havertz usually arching his run to the GK so as to force Wolves to play to one side and for Chelsea to converge on them and easily win the ball
If Chelsea doesn't press that high, or Wolves broke the press, we fell into a 451 mid-low block, Trying to play out through that block caused wolves some problems as when wolves tried to find their wingers our fullbacks were onto them in a flash
and we created chances from it as we flooded forward when we won the ball, in those moments Chelsea pressed once the ball was in their half like they did against Milan
Although ball progression was varied, Chelsea progressed the ball, especially in the first half through the wide players, Azpi, and Pulisic.
The wide player usually did 2 things to progress the ball
1. Find players in the pockets.
2. Look for half-space runs in behind
The wide player usually did 2 things to progress the ball
1. Find players in the pockets.
2. Look for half-space runs in behind
A hallmark of Potter's Brighton team was the way they attacked which was balls from the Cb's to the wide players who look inside the pockets for players who congest central areas to find close link-ups between themselves
Chelsea did that against Wolves. an example here is Gallagher already making space for Azpi to play the pass, he's slow to play it here but speed of thought playing those passes will come with time
The Chelsea Cbs looked for the wide players who in turn looked for players in the overloaded central areas with sharp passes who then link with each other, making runs to create chances.
We see how Chelsea overloads the center. It kept causing Wolves problems as the players didn't know which Chelsea player to pick up. It frees up wide spaces as well for Chelsea's wide players
More examples of it in real-time
Chelsea congested the central areas to have close connections in creating through central areas and to free up space for the wide players to then receive again in space for crosses/cutbacks or Pulisic it was space to drive at his fullback
Chelsea also used quick switches to find their wide players in space. Azpi enjoyed a lot of it proving to be a useful outlet on the right
The second way Chelsea's wingbacks tried to progress it was through half-space runs in behind. Gallagher made lots of runs for Azpi to play him in, Although the execution wasn't great, it looks like something that's being worked on in training.
Chelsea CB varied their ball progression as well, they didn't only use the wide players, they also played balls direct into the forwards. Mount, Havertz, and Gallagher at times dropped deep to receive from the CB's directly
Mount dropping deep this time from Jorginho led to Pulisic's goal, another 1-2 combination from Mount which is becoming regular among the attackers. Shows how they varied their build-up and didn't rely on one way to progress the ball
Another way Chelsea looked to create their chances is their Intense Counter press. Under Potter Chelsea attack directly after winning the ball, hardly any ball recycling
These are more direct balls through counters or building up. Including Kova's pass that led to Broja's goal. Something that is becoming a theme of Potter's attack so far at Chelsea
A negative of the game though which was few, was how open our midfield was at times. It wasn't for a lack of structure but for how it was easy to bypass our midfielders. It is something Potter has to be aware of. A better team takes advantage of the openings it created
We also left Adama to have 1v1's and create crossing opportunities early in the second half when wolves began to put pressure on us. Potter changed that when Reece came on and we became a 343
There are some recurring patterns Chelsea is beginning to show under Potter in the way we play. definitely more time on the training pitch is valuable for progress. Not getting carried away as this is a poor Wolves side. But we can see the progress.
End of Thread
End of Thread
Loading suggestions...