Chelsea Tactics and Transfers: Blues tapped against their ceiling vs Man U

Chelsea’s draw against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge showed how far they’ve come under Maurizio Sarri, and just how far they still have yet to go.

Chelsea finishing 2-2 against Manchester United is not a bad result. Regardless of the great Mancunian club’s current shape, they’ll always be giants of the game. Maurizio Sarri even said in the prematch build-up that Jose Mourinho could very possibly have the finest squad in the league at his disposal. Sure, they’re playing wonderful football, but the level of talent in that squad is unbelievable.

Less than 15 matches into his career as Chelsea manager, Maurizio Sarri managed his team to a comeback victory in the Premier League against one of the best sides in the world. That is an incredible thing. Adding to the celebration is how Ross Barkley, one of his substitutes, managed to grab that goal.

The unfortunate news is how apparent the limitations of this current iteration of the Blues is. Now I’m not saying I don’t believe there might be a few ways in which they could nick the title out from under Manchester City and Liverpool this season, but it will be hard. The even harder thing will be this team growing into a fully-fledged, buccaneering and attacking Maurizio Sarri side.

Sarri said in his post-match press conference that the side lost their character when down 2-1. It was an astute and honest comment from the manager, and one that perfectly explains what is wrong with this Chelsea side. It’s never a case of talent in the Roman Abramovich era at Chelsea. It is often a case of mental weakness, selfishness and character that holds the team back.

Despite all the work Sarri has done and the progress the team has made in playing a new style of football, it was almost fatalistically familiar to watch the team entirely forget their new teachings as soon as they fell behind. Their default style so deeply ingrained. Rather than playing the ball in Sarrismo’s version of tiki-taka, they instinctively resorted to long searching balls forward. It was almost as if Jose Mourinho was managing both sides for the final 30 minutes.

This is sad because it speaks to the sort of bullies many in this squad are. When the going is good and easy, they’re wonderful and they can play as they like. But when challenged, they lose their minds and any inkling of a proactive approach to playing.

Moving on, for Chelsea to be so thoroughly let down once again by Alvaro Morata is a shame. He seems like a nice chap but time is running out.

Football fans and coaches are a lot more patient than people give them credit for. The proof of that is in his partner Olivier Giroud. The Frenchman doesn’t score, he rarely gets a statistical assist and yet he still has a cult of followers surrounding him.

It is because of how Giroud plays, what he gives to the team, to the badge, the supporters and the club. Morata does none of that. It can’t be a lack of faith at this point.  In one of the biggest matches of the season Sarri gave him the all clear and yet again he was poor.

Morata should learn from Giroud and stop pitying himself. He’s a young man, a millionaire and a father and at some point he’s going to have to realize he must start playing like it. The issue is more than goals. It is about giving to the side. Over a year into his tenure Morata has still given barely anything to this one. Sadly, perhaps the only positive thing about Morata at this point is how few of the contractual add on’s from his Real Madrid transfer he has fulfilled. This keeps his transfer fee in the initial £55 million range, and Chelsea have not had to pay the full £70 million yet.

The entire situation really is a shame. He has all the talent in the world but his mentality lets him down so thoroughly it’s almost impossible to measure.

Chelsea were as equally let down by David Luiz, who made the decision to give Andreas Christensen more game time next week easier for Maurizio Sarri. Luiz has too much talent at times. He lives in the strange circumstance where he never really learned how to play football. He has skirted by on such unbelievable talent for such a long time that people have failed to realize that he simply must do more.

Luiz was at least partially at fault for both of United’s goals. As always, the rule is pretty simple.  If Luiz could learn how to take responsibility, read the game and rule his body with his mind and not his heart, he would shoot up to perhaps the second- or third-best center back in the world. As things stand, he cannot be the rock upon which this side is built.  It simply cannot happen.

Chelsea cannot go much further with this current iteration. With a squad whose first instinct is to desert the manager’s theories when things get tough, and a collection of players who play for themselves outside of the team, they are knocking up against the ceiling. To win trophies they will have to conquer their flaws and overcome their instinctual weaknesses.

Chelsea, though, have harbored these weaknesses for too long and it may be harder to work out than people think.

The real interest will be the evolution of the team over the next several years, to see if they grow or if they fade the way they have every other year for the past five.