Chelsea used a simple, efficient press to deny Tottenham the quick route up the centre that they used against the Blues in November. Callum Hudson-Odoi outplayed his teammates in this aspect of the game, as with most others on Tuesday.
Maurizio Sarri promised some tactical changes in his press conference ahead of the Carabao Cup tie with Tottenham. Despite Chelsea having played 12 games in the six weeks since the Premier League fixture against Spurs, the manner of that 3-1 loss – and the imperative to avoid anything like it – would have shaped his preparations.
Sarri kept his usual 4-3-3, but with one different one player in midfield (Ross Barkley for Mateo Kovacic), one different player on the forward line (Callum Hudson-Odoi instead of Alvaro Morata) and the subsequent positional changes to have Eden Hazard as the centre-forward. The two different players in the front six – Barkley and Hudson-Odoi – powered the shift in how Chelsea pressed Tottenham.
The Blues took on a 4-2-3-1 shape when Tottenham recovered the ball deep in their own zone. Eden Hazard always stayed as the highest player. Depending on which side Tottenham attempted to play out through, he would be joined by one of his teammates to give Chelsea a relatively narrow press of two pairs.
If Tottenham played the ball to their left / Chelsea’s right, Callum Hudson-Odoi would run forward with N’Golo Kante stepping up and to the outside to cover any passes up the flank to Spurs’ wingers. However, the midfielder-winger roles were reversed on the other side. If Tottenham came up through their right / Chelsea’s left, Ross Barkley would come off the line of three while Willian would stay deeper and to the outside.
Chelsea’s press was more about directing the flow of Tottenham’s play and setting passing traps than forcing a turnover. The Blues rarely closed down Spurs’ ball carriers at top speed, nor did they spring overloads against a ball carrier to regain possession. Because it was so light and based on structure rather than movement, it did not require much of a trigger other than a turnover in the final third.
Once Tottenham approached midfield by passing out to and the up the touchline, they had to then play the ball back inside to keep the play moving. Their full-backs were usually behind the play from having to make themselves available for playing out from the back. But when the full-backs freed themselves to move forward they found Chelsea’s full-backs playing deep and not allowing any space behind. Tottenham was also set up in a narrow formation – a 4-D-2 – that was built to attack Chelsea fast up the middle over the length of the pitch, as they did in November.
By forcing Tottenham to start their build-up wide and then come inside near the centre of the pitch without as much momentum – and then encounter a well-formed defence with N’Golo Kante as the first line of defence – Chelsea neutralized Spurs’ methods from the earlier game.
As a result, Tottenham’s best scoring chances came from a direct long ball over the top to Harry Kane. Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger cut out most of these threats, with Kepa Arrizabalaga often coming out to clean up a loose ball before anyone in white could play it.
Callum Hudson-Odoi stood out for his pressing just as much as he did for the offensive side of the game. Even though he did not rush Tottenham’s players to force a turnover, his regular pace was enough to hurry the Spurs’ pass, further confusing their attempts to pass their way up field.
Hudson-Odoi’s positioning and body angles showed a level of tactical intelligence that most of his teammates did not have. He made the slight changes in how and where he stood to ensure the passes went where Chelsea needed them to go, not where Spurs wanted them. Neither Willian nor Ross Barkley matched his tactical or technical acumen on the press. As a result, Spurs ultimately sent most of their attacks up their right / Chelsea’s left. Kieran Trippier and Moussa Sissoko had much more involvement in the build-up chance creation than Danny Rose, who faced Hudson-Odoi for most of the night.
The simplicity and efficiency of Chelsea’s press is much more in line with what Maurizio Sarri wants from his team than the room-temperature tiki-taka of their time in possession. This was the latest example in recent weeks of Chelsea making the subtle, incremental improvements that will hopefully cohere into Blue Sarrismo before too long.
Sadly, the best player involved in this tactic may not last the month at Stamford Bridge, and Sarri will need to (dare we say) tailor a new suit for the players he has left.