Chelsea Tactics and Transfers: Blues have the best problem in midfield
Despite having lost Eden Hazard to an injury he sustained against Manchester United, Chelsea have grown and prospered in their matches since. The reason is quite simple.
By finally playing Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Chelsea have found out they have one of the best problems in the world of football. They have too many good midfielders and can’t fit them all on the pitch at the same time. In Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Jorginho, Ross Barkley, Mateo Kovacic, Cesc Fabregas and N’Golo Kante they have six excellent players to fill three spots.
This creates a difficult scenario for Maurizio Sarri, but one he should feel lucky to be in all the same. The person who has made this the hardest is Ruben Loftus-Cheek. He has done it simply by doing exactly what you would hope from a youth player who is finally getting his long overdue minutes. In his first significant minutes in recent times, he has four goals in two games.
The big complaint with Chelsea’s midfield this season has been that they are goal shy. Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante are both phenomenal players – that is beyond question – but they do seem to have an issue with putting the ball in the net.
That makes it so lovely to see what is happening with Loftus-Cheek and Barkley recently. Chelsea need more goal threats, and the two English midfielders have gone about providing them. This is even more important in the matches in which Hazard isn’t present, but equally useful when he is.
With so few other offensive threats Chelsea’s opponents are beginning to defend against the Blues better and better in every match. In the first instance of Sarrismo teams appeared confused and overwhelmed with the style. That began to slow down as teams and scouts were able to study Chelsea’s style of play more.
It became obvious that for all the attacking intent Chelsea had, there was no clinical finishing to help the possession mean anything. Despite all the talks about statistics from the FIFA-boys and the talking heads, Chelsea never really seemed to beat their opponents that thoroughly. Sure, they held onto the ball a lot. Yippee, hooray! But that means nothing if you don’t put the ball in the net more.
Luckily – and Chelsea have been lucky for all of Eden Hazard’s years of service – Eden Hazard is good enough to mask a lot of those issues. His sheer talent and force of will make a difference in how the team plays and how people react to them. Now, just as teams were beginning to suss out the solution to Chelsea’s version of Sarrismo, Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek have shown up to make the difference.
Such a presence in midfield was one of the things that made Sarri’s Napoli so special. Even though they did not score many goals themselves, the added quality of Marek Hamsik and Allan created both fear and hesitancy in defenders. What do those two things lead to? Goals.
Chelsea are reaching the point where they should start thinking about rotating fully so the team can get more rest. Why not let Kante get a rest and play both Barkley and Loftus-Cheek on either side of Jorginho? I know it is one of those things we’re never supposed to consider and we must always keep our head in the sand… but what if that worked? Would it not be helpful to have other options that also let Kante rest?
Chelsea are in a wonderful place at the moment because almost every one of the midfielders will be full of confidence while being challenged by one another as well. That is the sort of healthy competition that builds a great squad. If they can resist the urge to moan and whinge like the defenders in the squad have recently taken to doing, Chelsea may just hold this title fight together till the end of the season.
Congratulations to Ruben Loftus-Cheek on keeping his head up and fighting his way into the team, and to Ross Barkley for having the work ethic and heart to still chase the promise of his lofty potential.