When Chelsea are doing well, it often seems like not a whole lot is happening on the left side of the club’s half. That is a testament to Cesar Azpilicueta imposing an understated, clinical shutdown defense at left-back.
The less you notice Cesar Azpilicueta, the better he is doing. Azpilicueta’s strength is winning one-on-one battles along the flank. The Spaniard is a one-man wall who calmly and patiently dispossesses any winger that comes towards him. Once he frees the ball from the attacker, he just-as-efficiently delivers the ball out to start play in the opposite direction.
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Lather.
Rinse.
Repeat.
Azpilicueta is one of the purest defensive outside fullbacks in the Premier League. Unlike his counterpart Branislav Ivanovic, Azpilicueta does not have a striker’s instinct for two-way play. You will rarely see Azpilicueta charging down the flank on an overlap before cutting towards the box. Nor will you see Azpilicueta rising aggressively for a header off a corner kick as Ivanovic will often do.
But neither will you see Azpilicueta get caught woefully out of position, and make a recklessly sloppy tackle in an attempt to recover. You will rarely see Azpilicueta concede possession by committing a foul due to poor technique or indiscipline on an offensive corner.
Perhaps if the rest of the club had performed up to standards this season the differences between the two backs would have been complementary. Azpilicueta could stay deep and effectively close down attackers one-on-one while Ivanovic augmented the club’s offensive threat. Instead, Azpilicueta scored his first Premier League goal and matched Ivanovic’s offensive output while putting up far better defensive numbers.
| Cesar Azpilicueta | Branislav Ivanovic | |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | 2 | 2 |
| Interceptions | 119 | 69 |
| Clearances | 129 | 120 |
| Defensive errors resulting in attempt | 0 | 2 |
| Defensive errors resulting in goal | 0 | 2 |
In Chelsea’s title-winning 2014/15 season, Nemanja Matic closed down the center of the pitch in holding midfield, and had support behind him with John Terry and Gary Cahill at center-back. Opposing offenses were forced to play out to the wings as they could find no opportunity in the center. This delivered them either to Azpilicueta’s kill zone on their right, or the aggressively erratic play of Ivanovic on their left.
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This season, Chelsea’s vulnerability through the center of the pitch gave opposing teams the ability to bypass Azpilicueta’s domain on the left flank. Attacks were much more centrally focused as Matic was a non-factor and the center-backs’ lack of speed presented an opportunity for strikers to get in behind Chelsea’s backline. Azpilicueta rarely had the opportunity to do what he does best because the opposition could take a shorter and easier route towards goal.
As a result of having to play out of position and in sub-optimal scenarios to cover for his squad-mates shortcomings, Azpilicueta was booked seven times in the 2015/16 season compared to twice in the preceding campaign.
With so many of his other metrics staying consistent between the two seasons, the drastic increase in yellow cards speaks to a player throwing himself desperately as a last resort after others had failed.
Next: Player evaluations 2015/16 hub
Azpilicueta was the Players’ Player of the Year for the 2013/14 season and has been a fan favorite since his first days with the club. Even so, the spotlight rarely lands on him and he can be overshadowed by his flashier and more outspoken teammates. Being the unsung hero is – by definition – a thankless task. But when your fans have more to howl than sing about, anyone unsung can consider himself lucky.