Chelsea FC vs Southampton FC: Post-Match Reflections…

Contrasting Fullbacks

Mandatory Credit: Paul Frederiksen-USA TODAY Sports

Chelsea have had serious issues defending aerial balls in recent games. But on Sunday, it was the agility and quick feet of Shane Long and Saido Mane that caused problems in the first half. I had expected Koeman to take advantage of Chelsea’s shambolic defending of aerial balls by using the height and physical presence of Graziano Pelle.

But he instead opted for the agility of Long (probably influenced by the fact that Long has scored against Chelsea FC in each of the last 3 seasons) to almost devastating effect as the lad linked up brilliantly with Saido Mane (who scored their only goal in the reverse fixture at the end of last year) to cause the Blues a lot of problems.

Unfortunately, this was made possible by another poor defensive display by Gary Cahill, who could not deal with the pace and movement of either of them. But I do have to admit though that on this occasion it wasn’t totally his fault as, again, Ivanovic failed to do his defensive duties, failing to track back quickly every time he made runs forward (which he did impressively) and leaving Cahill isolated on several occasions.

As a result, Bertrand, Tadic, Mane and Long had a field day down that flank, running rings round the overworked Cahill and creating chances at will. Willian did not make things easy as he also failed to track the overlapping runs of Bertrand as well, allowing the former Chelsea right back to cause problems every time he came forward.

Azpilicueta, on the other hand, was his usual reliable self in defence. But once Chelsea turned the screws on Southampton in the second half, he became the team’s weakest link, failing to take advantage of the spaces Hazard created down the left (by forcing Clyne to come narrow) to put in crosses, mainly due to his inability to use his left foot. On one occasion, Costa showed his frustration after Azpilicueta manage to botch a fantastic crossing opportunity while under no pressure.

Next: Tired Midfield