Maurizio Sarri’s biggest issue on attack may be down to getting the right players with each other. Chelsea cannot afford any combination as West Ham showed.
When a new manager comes in, they usually do so with tactics that can easily fit the squad at hand. But that was not necessarily the case for Maurizio Sarri and Chelsea. Sarri’s entire style as the world knows it has been defined by 11 players at Napoli. At Chelsea, he has to form a new way.
So far, Sarri’s Chelsea has lined up exactly as his Napoli side did. That goes beyond the 4-3-3, but all the way into the actual roles the players are in. But those roles came about because of the players Sarri had at Napoli. The Blues have done a fine imitation of it so far, but they have yet to copy it perfectly.
This has led to some balancing issues in the squad, namely between the front three and the midfield three. Some players simply are not compatible with one another. And when on the field together, they cause the whole team to struggle.
Something like that happened against West Ham. Willian is a winger who likes to come deep and ask for the ball. Mateo Kovacic, meanwhile, can move forward but usually only does with the ball. Because Kovacic would not advance into the space between the lines when Willian came deep, N’Golo Kante had to advance to shield Willian. The entire combination left Chelsea sterile in their possession.
Ross Barkley helped to solve that issue when he came on because he is willing to fill that space in between lines. But Barkley’s directness would work less well when there is a player like Pedro on the pitch who is looking for runs in behind rather than possession. Mateo Kovacic would suit Pedro better because he would keep opponents higher up and give Pedro more space.
The strikers can also be involved in this balance but often to a lesser degree. Alvaro Morata is better at stretching defenses around with his movement, whereas Olivier Giroud is better at sucking them in and flicking the ball on to teammates. Both have their uses, but both also suit other midfielders and wingers more. Pedro’s directness is more suited to Giroud’s flick ons. Willian’s passing is more suited to Morata’s movement.
The result of this imbalance is that Sarri has two separate rotations he can make depending on the opponent. If the opponent is going to sit off, the game calls for Barkley, Willian, and Giroud. If the opponent is going to come out and press, the game calls for Kovacic, Pedro, and Morata.
Sarri might have already recognized the imbalance in the squad when he started to rotate the wingers and strikers. Once he recognizes the midfield is also an issue in the balance of the side, he can start to put his best team together while also allowing for rotation. Then the Blues can start to become Sarri’s Blues officially and not an offshoot of what defined his Napoli side.