Chelsea played the first home match of their season on Saturday. They showed the limitations and positives of what Chelsea have to look forward to this year under Maurizio Sarri.
Chelsea beat Arsenal in a match that, by the numbers, was closer than it appeared. At times Chelsea showed some of the signs of beginning to take to Maurizio Sarri’s style of play while attacking. But their limitations in defense were starkly exposed.
This brings us to the questions of just how Sarri’s style will work, and if Chelsea have the correct players to make it happen this season.
My answers are yes to the first and no to the second. In the attacking third, Chelsea have most of the players they need, but not all of them. They are missing most obviously a strong, left-footed winger who can cut inside in the same manner Eden Hazard does from the left, but on the right. That position has been held down phenomenally by Pedro so far this year.
Pedro has been the obvious player of the admittedly short Sarri era. That’s a positive thing for him but, in a way, not for Chelsea. Pedro is a fantastic technical footballer and someone whom Sarri’s style was always going to suit impeccably. He has been near perfect, and the reason for that is simple. His technical ability, footballing education and fundamentals are so strong that there’s not a particularly weak area to Pedro’s technical game. He is good with both feet and reads the game well. What are best about Pedro, though, are his mind and his understanding of the game, which is why he has understood the transition so well. That said, Pedro is 31 and is not the future of the club.
The other right winger is the right-footed Willian who, though technically excellent, doesn’t offer the same balance to Hazard. Willian offers other options and positives (mind you, we’re going to ignore his personal issues) but is also 30 years old this year. He is not even close to being someone the team can count on as a pillar of Sarri’s new system.
That is why I was so thoroughly incensed by the club’s ability to miss out on not just Malcolm but Leon Bailey this summer. If Sarri’s style is going to take root he will need to communicate it to players who are going to be at the club for a while, not simply a year or two. Sarri needs to teach players who will be at Chelsea a minimum of three more years, but more likely 5-7. Is either Pedro or Willian one of those? No.
So while we saw a ton of positives in Chelsea moving forward there is, of course, that morsel to think about. Chelsea had brilliant moments moving forward and it was a joy to watch. Even more so considering they did not have the best player in the Premier League on the pitch for most of the game. Of course Arsenal are in transition, and Chelsea faced them at a good time. But they are still a squad of international players and Chelsea beat them for their second win on the bounce.
So while in the attacking third there are nothing but positives, we did also recognize the issues Chelsea carry at the back. For Sarri’s style of football to work he will need technically adept, strong, intelligent footballers with attacking intent, who are also disciplined and positionally strong.
The partnership of David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger will have to end sooner rather than later for Chelsea to gather the sort of pace that could have them in a good position for the winter.
Luiz is a good footballer who has been totally misrepresented his entire career. He has no sense of discipline or positioning. He simply cannot play in this system for 38 matches, let alone the 50 or so Chelsea play in a year. People do the same thing time and again with Luiz. He has sporadic, lone moments of isolated brilliance, and his supporters stick their heads in the sand for the rest of the year when he creates liability after vulnerability.
Rudiger is similar, but a tandem with the preternaturally conservative Andreas Christensen would constrain him and root him better on defense. A team can sustain only one of David Luiz or Antonio Rudiger at any given time, but certainly not both. We saw that against Arsenal.
Both of Arsenal’s goals were the result of poor, perhaps insane, positioning and a complete lack of forward thought. A defender’s job is to think about what can go wrong and prepare for it at all times. This includes getting into the right position before something happens, in the expectation that it will happen and they will be there to stop it.
Luiz, in the most adorable sense, simply gets too caught up in the mood of the game to do what he’s supposed to be doing. Simply put, he lacks the maturity.
The defence will be an issue this season. Fact. Gary Cahill is too slow but always worth taking a punt on, admittedly, given the amount of times he’s been written off and worked his way back. Beyond Luiz and Rudiger, then, only Ethan Ampadu and Andreas Christensen are left. If this season is to be a transition, perhaps Chelsea would be best served integrating Ampadu and Christensen in the system and riding out the errors of their youth now.
To have them both learn a full year’s worth of Sarri’s football and mature together could be perfect. Beside them they will have the experience of Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso, and then N’Golo Kante and Jorginho in front of them to aid, teach and bond. Ampadu and Christensen display some of the characteristics that lead me to think it’s possible Chelsea could have a golden pairing on their hands. They simply need to embrace it.
Yes, this would be a gamble. But the defence is already not good enough. Pairing the youngsters prepares for the future, while Chelsea have none with David Luiz and Antonio Rudiger. If Chelsea are going to ship 40 goals this season – as they will with Luiz and Rudiger (generously) – it may as well be with Christensen and Ampadu learning and growing alongside Kepa Arrizabalaga. That way, three years from now Chelsea will only concede 20.
This is a transitional year. It looks positive, but there’s still work to be done. Chelsea must do it rather than resting on their laurels and getting too caught up in the positives.