Chelsea can fall back on the 3-4-3 with a false nine to cover squad rotation
By George Perry
Chelsea have one more tactical formation they can turn to for squad rotation during the holiday season. They reverted to the 3-4-3 against Qarabag, with the added twist of playing Eden Hazard as a false-nine.
Antonio Conte is increasingly relying on Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard playing at the top of a 3-5-2 in his best XI. Neither Pedro nor Willian justified keeping the 3-4-3 as the primary formation, particularly after N’Golo Kante’s return set up the ideal three-man midfield of Kante, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Cesc Fabregas. This leaves the wingers and their favoured 3-4-3 as a backup formation for games when Antonio Conte can rotate his squad and rest a midfielder and a striker.
With the short recovery and preparation period between Qarabag and Liverpool, Conte needed to lessen the load on Morata and Hazard. He deployed his wingers in the 3-4-3, and chose to start Eden Hazard as the false-nine. The three wingers played the full width of the box, with little regard for the “formal” designations of left, centre and right. Each player’s average position was closer to the centre of the pitch than either side.
Chelsea were no less an attacking threat for not having a proper striker on the pitch. Willian had his best game of the season, not just in goal scoring but in chance creation, creative dribbling and link-up with his fellow wingers. Their movement forced Qarabag to play off them, as any attempt to mark one would open up too much space for the others.
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In the absence of a target man, the three wingers could play as creatively and freely as they would on a playground pitch. The Chelsea wingers only had to stay in one area long enough for Cesc Fabregas to spot them and send in a pass. Fabregas responded to their movement and the extra space by moving outside his usual pocket in the centre of the pitch. He sent in passes from across the centre and the right side.
The major deficiency of Chelsea’s false-nine 3-4-3 was how it marginalized the wing-backs. Marcos Alonso’s play this entire season has suffered for not having Eden Hazard in front of him on the wing. Despite the return to the 3-4-3, he did not have any rapport with the left side winger, in large part because there was no left side winger. Davide Zappacosta has not experienced much of Chelsea in the 3-4-3. Most of his training and playing at the Blues has been in the 3-5-2.
The false-nine also limits the role of two wing-backs with a knack for crossing. They did not have a target to send crosses towards. Chelsea’s three wingers are also relatively short and not strong in the air, limiting the usefulness of a cross into the box. As a result, the wing-backs played little role in the win over Qarabag. Chelsea’s played much more narrowly than usual. Zappacosta responded by coming in towards the centre on both offence and defence.
Chelsea could not afford to leave their wing-backs out of the play against a stronger, full-strength opponent. They will need to learn how to integrate themselves with these players in this system.
Antonio Conte could also use the false-nine option to rest all of his strikers, including Eden Hazard. Willian and Pedro provide enough stability and coverage across the pitch that Charly Musonda or Victor Moses could be the third member of the front three. This could be too decentralized for Conte’s comfort, and for Chelsea’s success. With three fluid wingers Chelsea could easily regress to trying to pass the ball into the net instead of finding the final pass to the final man for a true scoring chance.
Conte will likely not use the 3-4-3 with a false-nine unless two contingencies are met: a low-level opponent and an injury to Michy Batshuayi. If Batshuayi is available and Conte wanted to rest Eden Hazard, Batshuayi could be the striker in a 3-4-3 between Willian or Pedro; or in a 3-5-2 with Willian as the No. 10.
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The likeliest next appearance for the false-nine 3-4-3 is December 20 in the Carabao Cup against Bournemouth. However, given the need for rotation this time of the season and Chelsea’s luck in drawing a string of bottom of the table opponents (West Ham, Everton, even Swansea City next weekend), Chelsea may tap into their reserve formations along with the reserve players.