Chelsea played the wrong 3-5-2 for Ross Barkley to make an impact

Ross Barkley played his longest shift in 366 days against Newcastle on Sunday. However, Chelsea’s 3-5-2 negated the contributions he could have made as either an attacking midfielder or winger.

Antonio Conte deployed yet another starting XI against Newcastle, starting Emerson Palmieri on the left flank and Ross Barkley in midfield of a 3-5-2. Chelsea’s best use of this formation came in its purest form: the dual-striker set-up against Burnley. For the finale, though, Conte selected Olivier Giroud as the No. 9 and Eden Hazard as a shadow striker. This left Ross Barkley with nowhere to move into the attack, and stranded him out-of-place among the true central midfielders.

In this 3-5-2, Eden Hazard plays in the large arc of space behind and out to the sides level with the No. 9. Hazard drops deep to claim the ball and either runs it up the middle, or he passes it on before moving out to either side (usually the left) to start another move. His frequent vertical movement makes the 3-5-2 into a 3-5-1-1, and his free movement denies the striker the regular partnership of a 3-5-2.

Chelsea normally do not have any other players who would be in the centre of the pitch where Hazard drops back to take the ball. When Pedro plays in central midfield behind Hazard and a striker in the 3-5-2, he plays nearly as freely laterally as Hazard does.

Against Newcastle, though, Hazard’s usual movement precluded Ross Barkley from filling in the space where he is most comfortable and most dangerous: the CAM / No. 8 space. If Barkley had pushed forward from midfield he would have interfered with Hazard’s role in the build-up. He also may have found himself on the wrong side of the attack, which would have limited his ability to interrupt a Newcastle counter.

Olivier Giroud created another limitation against Barkley. Giroud does not have the speed – nor, it seems, the inclination – to press the opponent. This is a major weakness of using him in this 3-5-2. Without the strikers involved in the press, the midfielders have to immediately retreat to a line closer to their defence, ceding the midfield. Barkley could not move up onto the wing to support the wing-backs or try to press without leaving even more space for Newcastle to stream through midfield.

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The strikers’ non-involvement and the midfield retreat exposes the space behind the wing-backs. This disconnects the strikers and wing-backs from the rest of the play, and puts the midfield into a reactive posture from the outset of the play. Rafael Benitez exploited this impeccably to nullify Chelsea throughout the first half.

The net result for Ross Barkley was that he spent the first half closer to Tiemoue Bakayoko and N’Golo Kante than to Eden Hazard and Olivier Giroud. He was nowhere close to where he needed to be, nor was he in a role that suits his abilities.

Barkley was much more effective in the second half, taking fewer touches than in the first half but taking them in better positions and with greater purpose. He moved up towards the forward line, and Eden Hazard stayed on the line as well. Chelsea moved closer to a 3-4-3, allowing Barkley to involve himself more in the play. He not only had more quality time on the ball, but Chelsea could maintain possession for longer and were not as porous when Newcastle broke out.

Ross Barkley would be an ideal player in a proper 3-5-2 / 3-4-1-2, slotting into the attacking midfield space behind Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata. Giroud and Barkley would be a formidable physical presence going forward. Morata and Barkley would have the speed to press the opponent and break out on the counter. The dual strikers would give the attack just enough width to create the pocket for Barkley. Their combined presence would then allow the wing-backs to come forward without fear of exposing the flanks to a counter. The wing-backs could then stretch the play across the pitch and provide service to the strikers.

Obviously, this formation does not include Eden Hazard, which makes it an unlikely prospect. Another option, though, would be the 4-2-3-1 as Chelsea used to overcome their deficit against Southampton. Barkley, Hazard and either Willian or Victor Moses would make a powerful line of resistance behind either Giroud or Morata as the lone striker.

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Chelsea did not have the right players for the formation, and Rafael Benitez exploited the mistakes brilliantly. On the positive side, Ross Barkley seems to have come through 77 minutes injury-free so he may still have a future in Blue.