Zonal defending will never not be an issue for Chelsea

Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri is a proponent of pure zonal defense. It will never stop being an issue for Chelsea (or the Premier League as a whole).

Zonal defending mostly came about in response to man marking. Rather than have players follow one player around during the entire defensive phase, each player would be responsible for their own zone. When the ball entered their zone, they would go for it and would otherwise stay in place.

It took hold on the European continent but never really did in England. And over time, the deficiencies of a pure man marking or pure zonal marking system became evident. It is rare to see either used fully in the modern game.

But some managers do dogmatically stick by zonal marking. Maurizio Sarri is one of those managers. And while it can work perfectly at times, when it does not it becomes rather embarrassing. It will not stop being an issue in England, however, because the English game will never adapt in a way where a pure zonal defense will be the best option.

Chelsea’s goals against Burnley were down to zonal defense, as almost every goal the Blues concede is. The first came when the ball went to the edge of the box, unmarked because it was no one’s zone. The second was a goal Chelsea has conceded time and time again this season; a cross was sent into the blind side of the defense on to an unmarked far post runner. Again, no one has that zone when the ball is on the flank so it is basically a free goal routine for opponents.

It does not just happen in the final third either. Chelsea would never stick a marker onto a player this season, even if doing so would curtail the opponents’ buildup. This also leads to another issue where the opponent can send a through ball right between two zones. Neither player knows who should commit, so it goes uncontested for a runner in behind. That has also happened to Chelsea several times this season.

Many would simply call this a mistake on the defender’s part or say the defender is not good enough. But they are only doing what they are told to do. Tactics are about forcing the opponents to make mistakes and then exploiting them. By defending zonally in the Premier League, the Blues open themselves to that exploitation against opponents that have studied them.

Rafa Benitez is also a pure zonal manager and it caused plenty of issues when he was at Chelsea as well. While he was often slammed for his side giving up 2-0 leads constantly, Sarri avoids the same blame as it is directed towards the players merely following the Italian’s blueprint.

The reason zonal marking has never taken in the Premier League, and never truly will, is because most teams blend zonal and man marking. Pep Guardiola, for instance, has his sides mark when a passing lane crosses their zone. Jurgen Klopp has his players mark any man that comes into their zone. They do not let their sides wait for the ball to enter the zone to commit, they have the players commit when there is even a possibility the ball might enter the area.

That does not make zonal defense completely worthless, but there are many situations where it is clearly inferior to an alternative. If the far post fullback was allowed to track his man or a midfielder was allowed to drop deep, then Chelsea would not concede so many goals from those far post runs.

But Sarri is unwilling to adapt to the league around him even as the league has long ago adapted to him. And unless Sarri decides to change, then Chelsea will continue to concede ridiculous goals. Unfortunately, the players will be blamed for buying in and doing as they are told by a man that gets to avoid the heat.