N’Golo Kante not only scored Chelsea’s only goal against Manchester City, he might have been the most potent offensive player on Saturday. Now you see the problem.
Chelsea had more of the ball but not as many shots and not as many goals as Manchester City. Without Mason Mount to make runs between the lines, the Blues’ lines were disconnected and that made it too easy for their hosts.
Jorginho, Midfielder: 4.5
Before Jorginho’s error leading to a goal, he was having a typically mixed game. Just under 15 minutes into the game, Chelsea recovered the ball near their own six yard box. The Blues had seven players in tight quarters around the ball, and Jorginho had possession right in the centre. Rather than dribble the ball out of the box or play a pass forward to safety or offensive potential, he sent a square pass to the left edge of the box. Manchester City regained possession a few seconds later, and Jorginho made a hard tackle to win back the ball. Under the eyes of a different referee, that tackle would have been a foul and a set piece that is almost a guaranteed goal from that position with Kevin de Bruyne standing over it.
Jorginho then went on a stretch of competing numerous high probability passes: square balls, backwards balls, short passes forward.
None were searching, adventurous, forward-thinking or progressive. Arguably they did not even do much to help Chelsea maintain possession because square passes or back passes invited City’s press. Meanwhile, Cesar Azpilicueta and Willian were regularly wide open on the right, calling for a diagonal pass that never came from the deep-lying playmaker.
In the 10 minutes after his obligatory yellow, Jorginho looked more likely to earn a second yellow than do anything useful for the team. Minutes after another reckless tackle, Frank Lampard brought him off in the 74′, ensuring Chelsea finished the game with 11 men on the pitch.
Perhaps the most notable thing about Jorginho’s performance was that almost everybody noticed it.
N’Golo Kante, Midfielder: 7.5
N’Golo Kante really can do everything. Before his goal he was making forward runs, looking for crosses and throughballs in the box. He made a mockery of the size difference between him and Benjamin Mendy by holding off his compatriot en route to scoring a goal as he fell to the ground. Kante nearly scored his second goal of the night off a late run into the box, taking a one-time shot from a cutback and sending it just wide. And throughout it all he was still covering the entirety of the pitch to press, track back and defend.
The problem with having N’Golo Kante as your most offensive midfielder is that Kante, despite being able to do everything, should not be the most offensive midfielder. He’s great for making unexpected late runs into the box and turning up for low probability shots. But he does not work between the lines like Mason Mount does, nor does he linger deep enough to find a final pass for a forward making a run behind or through the lines.
Chelsea need more than Kante to score the amount of goals they need to offset those we know they are going to concede. Kante helps on both fronts, but he needs someone who can do on the attacking line what he does so superlatively on the midfield line.
Mateo Kovacic, Midfielder: 6
Mateo Kovacic found himself in a similar position as Kante: the team needed what he does so well, but that still left them needing more. Kovacic was excellent in dribbling the ball out of tight spaces in his own half and then dribbling at tight spaces in City’s half.
But he was not able to connect the midfield and attacking line like Mount or a functional full back – midfielder – winger battery would do. The full back on his side (Emerson) was barely functional, and the winger (Christian Pulisic) seems to need Mason Mount to thrive, so Kovacic spent the game in no man’s land.
Mason Mount, Midfielder (74′): 6.5
We are resolute in our calls for player rotation for both tactical and fitness / freshness purposes. But right now we are not seeing how Chelsea can give Mason Mount any days off other than the early rounds of the FA Cup.
Mount defended deeper and pressed higher than Jorginho, not just covering more ground but having more interactions with City players than Jorginho does even on his better days. In possession, Mount is apparently the only Chelsea player who is comfortable operating between the lines with his back to goal, ready to take the ball on the half turn or just draw open space for someone else to run into.
Frank Lampard has not shown much interest in changing his formation to accommodate getting certain players on or off the pitch at the same time. If the Blues are going to stay in the 4-3-3 / 4-2-3-1, Mount cannot expect to have any more days out of the starting XI.