Chelsea: Davide Zappacosta is an option but not a solution at left wing-back
By George Perry
Marcos Alonso was the latest player to take his first rest of the season, staying on the bench while Chelsea drew Atletico Madrid. Davide Zappacosta took his place at left wing-back, filling a role without really fulfilling it.
With Cesar Azpilicueta’s near-historic day of rest on Saturday, Marcos Alonso moved into the top spot for playing minutes among Chelsea’s outfield players. Chelsea’s absolute dearth of options at left wing-back has made Alonso indispensable by default, even if his play this season has called at times for a replacement (or at least a deputy).
Victor Moses’ 90 minutes against Newcastle United confirmed his return to match fitness and sharpness. With two right wing-backs available Antonio Conte sent Davide Zappacosta to the left, allowing Alonso to rest for the first time in a major competition this season.
With so little on the line against Atletico Madrid, Conte took advantage of the opportunity both to rest Alonso and test Zappacosta as an option at left wing-back. Zappacosta showed that – in a pinch, if Alonso is injured, suspended or just thoroughly out of form – he can cover the left flank. However, he is not a solution for the Blues’ lack of depth at left wing-back. Zappacosta will continue to challenge Moses for the starting job at right wing-back, but Alonso remains worringly unopposed.
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Zappacosta’s best potential on the left stems from wrong-footing his marker by coming sharply inside. A defender playing him as if he was a left-footed wing-back would leave open a narrow lane for Zappacosta to cut inside and shoot, pass or beat the next man with his stronger right foot. Zappacosta did this once to great effect, in the 36th minute. He cut inside and around his marker for a tight-angle shot well-aimed just inside the near post, producing one of Jan Oblak’s irritatingly frequent saves.
However, those moments are the exceptions that prove the rule. Zappacosta was not an effective crosser nor did he protect the ball well moving up along the touchline, unsurprisingly given that he is very much a right-footed player. He may have simply lacked confidence more than ability, but the result was the same. His speed was a welcome addition to the left, matching Victor Moses’ pace much more than Alonso can. But he could not match Alonso’s side-specific technical play on either side of the ball. He simply lacked the wing-back fundamentals that he exhibits so well on the right.
Given his tricky pace changes when bringing the ball up-field, he may have been able to re-ignite the linkage from Gary Cahill to Eden Hazard along Chelsea’s left side. Marcos Alonso has struggled to find the connection with Hazard since switching to the 3-5-2. Zappacosta may have come on in the hope of creating a new pattern. However, the well-established chemistry between Cesar Azpilicueta, Victor Moses and N’Golo Kante on the right, coupled with Cesc Fabregas’ preference to take station on the right, made Zappacosta’s flank very quiet.
Chelsea are in the same place they were in last season and throughout the summer transfer window: in serious need of player, of whom there may be no more than five in the world. Davide Zappacosta can play left wing-back if Chelsea truly need him, but he does not provide depth behind Marcos Alonso.
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The Blues scarcely have the time to build another player like Marcos Alonso in the middle of a four-competition season. With neither Kenedy nor Baba Rahman on the horizon, they will need to meet whatever demands Juventus lay down for Alex Sandro unless Antonio Conte has a few more left-footed rabbits up his sleeve.