Chelsea’s win streak may have restricted Antonio Conte’s willingness to adapt his lineup against Tottenham Hotspur. A 3-5-2 with Eden Hazard and Diego Costa up top could have kept the winning run alive.
Winning is the product of consistently high performance, individual and collective talent, and a proper guide through the muck opponents can send your way. Winning a lot is the byproduct of making this routine. And with winning a lot come opportunities to flirt with history.
Now before we get to it let’s first say that 13 straight wins in the Premier League is a monstrous achievement. There are only 38 matches in a full season. Thirteen is slightly more than one-third of the entire thing. As disappointing as a loss in the 14th match can be (and was), I’d take a loss every single 14th match if it meant winning the prior 13.
However…
The biggest pressure to maintaining a win streak is not just to not lose. The challenge is to prevent the streak from becoming a distraction to decision-making. The streak can become bigger than the opponent and distort necessary – even obvious – adjustments. This, more than anything else, is what happened to Antonio Conte and Chelsea against Tottenham.
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Spurs were not just the first team face Chelsea’s 3-4-3 for a second time. They were also the only opponent to match the physicality of a Kanté-Matic midfield. Mauricio Pochettino had the confidence that Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama could replicate this feat. This gave him the freedom to stick an extra man in midfield to be the difference.
Christian Eriksen was that man. Two Eriksen assists later and Pochettino looks to have gotten one up on football’s equivalent of Giorgio Armani.
The most unfortunate part is that, if not for the pressure of beating a fierce rival, away, and to set a Premier League record, Chelsea fans had every reason to believe Conte would have done something similar.
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There were hints all around that this was the match for Conte to dust off the old and trusty 3-5-2 formation that made him a god at Juventus. His faith in Cesc Fabregas had been growing, with each assist repaying the manager’s trust. Against Bournemouth, Conte deployed Eden Hazard as a false nine to terrific effect.
The pieces for a 3-5-2 had all played their individual parts at some point in the recent past and with dynamic success.
Spurs at full health posed the greatest threat to one of Chelsea’s greatest strengths. This made it almost obvious to swap Pedro/Willian’s right forward position for an extra man in the center of the pitch. Whether deep-lying or closer to the forwards, Conte could have deployed Hazard as a false nine with Costa a target above. In that formation, Fabregas, Hazard, and Costa could have dusted off the links that brought Chelsea the title a season ago.
In theory, this seemed like the best way to match an ambitious Spurs side. However, Conte sticking with the same ol’ 3-4-3 is not a misstep worth much more than a modicum of scrutiny. But it was a misstep nonetheless.
No, Chelsea should not change their base formation, nor should they buy Lionel Messi. Fans should stop suggesting all manners of dramatic change. Antonio Conte has shown himself willing to make little tweaks to combat a specific opponent.
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With the win counter back to zero, he is free to do so once again. Let’s hope he has a chance to atone after the next 13 matches.