Chelsea’s 3-4-3 is not a formation, it’s a lifestyle (just ask Leicester City)

Leicester City came out in an atypical 3-5-2 in an attempt to counter Chelsea. The Foxes quickly learned that playing three at the back is much more than positioning and nomenclature.

Everton were the last team to depart from their usual formation to face Chelsea with a three-man backline. In response, Chelsea played their most precise and devastating game in the 3-4-3 formation. The final pass- and position-maps looked more like an academic demonstration than the end product of a competitive Premier League game.

Leicester fared nominally better than the Toffees, losing 3-0 to Chelsea for the second time this season. Claudio Ranieri’s reversion to being the Tinkerman highlighted the extent to which Antonio Conte has trained Chelsea in the detailed execution of the 3-4-3.

Leicester City shifted Marc Albrighton across the field to play as right wing-back, to the outside of Danny Drinkwater. The centre and left side of the Foxes’ midfield, then, were the highly inexperienced trio of Wilfred Ndidi, Nampalys Mendy and Ben Chilwell.

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A defining feature of Chelsea’s midfield play this season is their ability to instantly bring two midfielders and possibly a winger to overload the opposition’s ball-carrier. Some combination of N’Golo Kante, Willian, Cesc Fabregas, Pedro and Nathaniel Chalobah routinely show how quickly they can eliminate an opponent’s movement space and passing lanes. The Blues would create a 2v1 or 3v1 situation, dispossess the opponent and immediately turn on the counter-attack.

Despite having five midfielders, Leicester never overloaded Chelsea’s ball-carriers in midfield. When Chelsea had the ball on the flank in the middle-third, the Foxes could muster little more than crowding that side of the pitch. Despite tilting the field towards Chelsea’s ball-carrier, Leicester never pressured the Chelsea player into an interception or tackle.

By creating the lopsided distribution, Leicester left the opposite flank completely open. A frequent sight was four or more Leicester City players hovering around Victor Moses or Cesar Azpilicueta in the middle third. Meanwhile, Marcos Alonso was across the field, waving his arms  in an empty patch of turf.

Alonso’s man of the match performance came from his use of space. Eden Hazard played in the centre as a false nine, while Pedro slotted in on the left wing. Both players moved freely across the front. Pedro frequently drifted inside of Hazard or outside of Alonso. Pedro’s and Hazard’s free movements and frequent runs gave Alonso control of the left side.

Chelsea’s expertise in their tactics allowed them to adjust their play to the new spaces vacated by the Foxes. As Leicester flooded one side with bodies, Chelsea’s same-side wingers came shallow and the centre-backs opened up for a pass. Even Thibaut Courtois would come out of his box and subtly adjust his position for a tactical back-pass. Chelsea’s entire focus is on creating options to shift play across or up the field in two passes.

By contrast, for the few stretches in which Leicester City had possession, they did not know how to play off the ball to resist or evade Chelsea’s counter-press. Robert Huth and Wes Morgan lack the mobility to get in position to offer outlet passes for their wingbacks. Christian Fuchs has the mobility, but ended up shadowing Ben Chilwell in the left wing-back position. Chilwell’s overall inexperience coupled with his specific deficits in the 3-5-2 resulted in him not creating overlaps with Fuchs on the rare opportunities they had.

Leicester City’s best chances in the first half came off of crosses and long diagonal passes from Marc Albrighton. Albrighton nearly found Jamie Vardy several times, and David Luiz almost turned a perfect Leicester cross into his own goal. The Foxes knew exactly how to read and execute these plays because it was their bread-and-butter last season.

Claudio Ranieri won the Premier League last year by doing what Antonio Conte is doing this year. Ranieri made the perfect suit for his players. Leicester’s counter-attacking style built around Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez suited the squad perfectly.

The Foxes have fallen off significantly this season for a variety of reasons, but the core players remain (minus N’Golo Kante). A radical deviation from the standard formation will always be a tough challenge. Such a change against the runaway Premier League leaders, and trying to beat them at their own game, would be asking too much of squads more talented than Leicester City.

Ranieri’s tinkering got him into trouble during his time at Chelsea. The end result would have been about the same whether he played a 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 yesterday. But he did his players and his reputation no favors with the change.

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If there’s one lesson for the rest of the league in Chelsea’s win over Leicester, it is to stick to what you know. Do not attempt to out-Conte Conte.