Chelsea: Frank Lampard’s best path forward may require a step back

Chelsea has had a rough few weeks since returning from break. To stop the rot, Frank Lampard may need to retreat to an old set up.

In preseason, Frank Lampard played around with a few different formations with the same basic tenants. High, aggressive pressing led to fast vertical attacks. If the ball was lost while trying to attack, the numbers were already there to press. If the press succeeded, it was easier to move the ball forward in the chaos.

The issue was when the press failed. A year and a half of management is not much to make a sweeping judgement about Frank Lampard’s style, but the defensive side of things is where he lags behind. The press does most of the work and often does well, but if it is beaten, a high line is left to rely on individuals doing something great rather than a set up shielding the goal.

Lampard already had this issue before, but earlier in the season he had more goal scorers to at least push Chelsea along. Since they have all dried up bar Tammy Abraham, the results have dipped. Lampard solved the issue last time by taking a step back briefly. That worked in the short term to allow the winning streak in the long term. Something similar is needed again.

Following the return from the first international break this season, two changes were made. The first was the switch to a 3-4-3. That was largely injury enforced but also served to better shield Chelsea from the crosses that were tearing the Blues apart. The second was a deeper defensive line but that only tells part of the story.

Chelsea’s defensive line has taken on a few different iterations this season, but the main difference has been how connected they have been to the midfield. At times, the midfield is right there with them on the defensive side of things. At others, the midfield pushes up to aid the attack while the defense stayed deep. This left a large, exploitable hole for the opposition. And yet another way was when the line pushed up high. That closed the gap, but runs in behind became a true risk.

A deeper defensive line and the 3-4-3 solved the initial issues the Blues face this season. It allowed the side to sacrifice possession for security. It also allowed Chelsea to create vertical space because the opposition would press up on them. That strategy peaked against Wolves as Abraham ran rampant.

That strategy works so long as the opponent is willing to push up. Opposition felt safe doing that after Chelsea’s initial struggles, but the longer the Blues won, the more the opponents backed off. That is when the high line and aggressive pressing became more viable as a solution. Then new issues arose.

Chelsea dominated possession against West Ham, Everton, and Bournemouth but struggled against all three. Those sides allowed Chelsea to have the ball and picked the right moments to push out and press. Even more, they waited until Chelsea’s defensive line was high before they played their way in behind.

Basically, Chelsea has become vulnerable to the very thing they used to start the most recent winning run: deeper lines and faster counters. The way forward out of this current rut could very well be stepping back to what worked previously.

It was not a permanent switch last time and need not be this time either. The change to 3-4-3 last time worked well for several games, and by then injured players had returned and opponents had started to do something different. At that point the 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 with more players committed to the press and attack became viable. Lampard could return to something like that after the brief retreat.

Chelsea plays two top four rivals over the next three match days. Jose Mourinho will be one of those opposition managers and he understands more than most that the team in control of the game does not necessarily require the ball. Lampard may need to show that he learned that lesson from his former coach as he looks to spend this week getting his team to play smarter instead of harder.