Chelsea must play more expensively to thwart Leicester’s gameplan
By George Perry
Whether by intention of default, Chelsea atomized their XI into four narrow units against Arsenal. They will need to do the opposite and set pickets across the pitch to prevent Leicester from hitting hard and fast on counter-attacks.
Chelsea’s 3-5-2 split from three integrated lines into four somewhat disconnected units midweek against Arsenal. One was the defensive line with N’Golo Kante just in front. A centre-back / wing-back / midfield triangle came together on either side of the pitch. And Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard were free agents up top.
This arrangement gave the Blues little control of transitions and no coherence on offence. But the outside triangles did a better job shutting down Arsenal’s wing-backs than in the Arsenal fixture one week earlier, and the narrow defence denied the Gunners worthwhile opportunities on goal. Unsurprisingly, the result was a goalless draw.
Against Leicester City, Chelsea will need to return to their full-pitch style of play centered around two strong, box-to-box midfielders. The Blues need have their lines well-spaced, neither allowing too much room between them for Riyadh Mahrez nor too much space behind for Jamie Vardy to run in alone on Thibaut Courtois. Chelsea also need to cover the width of the pitch, with highly-mobile roadblocks in the centre of midfield. Meanwhile the wing-backs must shut down the inside-out pass to the flanks, which come back in the form of a cross to Jamie Vardy.
The 3-4-3 would be the ideal formation against the Foxes. It spreads the forwards wide across the top with at least one winger pressing high, while keeping the twin-piston arrangement in midfield. However, since Antonio Conte is now partial to the 3-5-2, his choice of the midfield three and their assignments are more important than ever.
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As always, N’Golo Kante is the key to nearly everything. Chelsea cannot afford to have Kante play in the deep destroyer role. Doing so would cede every geometry – length, width, area, angles – to the Foxes’ counter-attack. Kante must be able to move box-to-box, pinning Leicester in their own half but then recovering to shut down anything that develops around him.
Tiemoue Bakayoko would be the best partner for Kante, even if the 3-5-2 is not his best formation. Bakayoko has the capacity to play the full length of the midfield, and on his day can better share the piston-pivot role around Kante.
Despite his poor showing against Arsenal, Danny Drinkwater could be the ideal third midfielder alongside the Frenchmen. Drinkwater would compensate for the absent winger in the 3-5-2, giving Chelsea a pressing option high up the pitch. Drinkwater and Bakayoko would cue their left-right position off of each other, while Kante reads their game to cover the openings they create. From front to back, Drinkwater, Bakayoko and Kante would be staggered across the pitch to prevent the Foxes from springing Mahrez and Vardy.
Chelsea will have very little time to settle in and find their tactical rhythm. Leicester have scored two-thirds of their Premier League goals in the first 30 minutes of games. They can make Chelsea pay for any miscommunication or sloppy positioning to spot an early lead, then sit back and force the offensively-deprived Blues to chase the game.
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Chelsea’s pass and positioning maps against Arsenal made the team look cliquish, with different groups attending to their little areas of responsibility in isolation from the rest. They will need to be one team working in coordination over the entire pitch if they are to win for the first time in the new year.