Michy Batshuayi’s strong performance against Tottenham unlikely to help his standing at Chelsea

Michy Batshuayi put in a creditable performance against Tottenham, particularly given his dearth of playing time. Unfortunately it will not markedly change his fortunes for the remainder of the season.

Michy Batshuayi played 61 minutes against Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-final. That is over half as many minutes as he has played in the Premier League all season. It was his first start since Chelsea’s fourth-round FA Cup tie against Brentford on 28 January.

Pedro and Willian flanked Batshuayi on Chelsea’s front line. For the opening 20 minutes, the trio revived a long-absent dynamism in Chelsea’s press. They harried Tottenham’s defenders deep in the Spurs zone, forcing Spurs to rush their passes and interrupting play out from the back.

Batshuayi and either winger would overload the Tottenham ball-carrier. Chelsea’s midfielders or wing-backs could then push up to recover any loose balls the forwards liberated from the Spurs. This set the tone for the opening segment of the game, up until Harry Kane equalized for 1-1 in the 18′.

"Batshuayi seemed to be the one directing the two wingers on when to press and where to press… It was important for Chelsea to get on the front foot early. by doing the high press they were able to wrestle some control from Tottenham and not let [their defenders] get time on the ball. – Daniel Mcclue, The Blue Lions"

While Pedro and Willian have taken their turns on Chelsea’s wing, they have rarely played together. Batshuayi’s presence in place of Costa brought coherence to the wingers’ energy, enabling Chelsea to play the press. They each had the speed to pursue the ball with each pass around the Spurs half. While Diego Costa may run at the opposition centre-back in possession, that is the extent of his involvement in a press. He does not have the speed or agility to maintain consistent pressure.

Aside from the baseline effectiveness of this tactic, Antonio Conte also had the element of surprise in his favour. Chelsea have not played this style of press in some time. Additionally, few people would have expected Conte would omit both Diego Costa and Eden Hazard from his starting XI.

"Spurs likely spent a large amount of the training sessions planning to neutralize Hazard, how to get around him. Or picking on Diego Costa, who has been rising to it most recent games… The motivation being to surprise Spurs from the outset. When they are tired, then bring on the force of Costa and Hazard. – Rayna Sidhu"

Batshuayi made way for Diego Costa at the hour mark of the game. Costa offered and contributed nothing more to Chelsea than Batshuayi was providing. Chelsea relinquished their high press in the second half, for tactical purposes as well as the simple aspect of fatigue. In that sense, Costa was little more than a like-for-like swap.

However, Batshuayi showed more initiative and deftness than Costa is capable of doing. Antonio Conte clearly saw both Eden Hazard and Diego Costa as impact substitutions that would jar Tottenham and secure victory. Hazard did just that. He had a goal and assist, in addition to the less quantitative effects he had on the flow of the game. Costa did nothing of the sort.

That Costa offered no clear advantage over Michy Batshuayi should speak volumes to Antonio Conte about his misplaced preference for the Spaniard. The most generous analysis in Costa’s favour is that he was no worse than the man who has 113 Premier League minutes this season.

Next: Antonio Conte deserves high praise for his decisions in the FA Cup

Unfortunately, Conte is unlikely to start Batshuayi until and unless Chelsea secure the Premier League title. Conte’s decision to start Batshuayi was as much about resting Diego Costa for Tuesday’s Premier League game with Southampton as it was tactical surprise. Batshuayi can take pride in his Wembley debut. That may be all he will have to show for it.