Chelsea: Five lessons learned about positioning and movement in draw

Bournemouth ensured they took four out of a possible six points from Chelsea this season. Here are some of the lessons we can take from the first draw between these teams.

In what was nothing short of a disappointment, the only thing Chelsea did not get at Vitality Stadium was a winning goal. Chelsea has put up so many subpar performances to explain poor results, but that was not case this time. It is understandable to be frustrated at not getting three points from Bournemouth, but if the Blues play like that in every game – save for the defending – they’ll win the majority of their games.

1. Stretch the pitch around a low block

Not all teams have the ability to exploit wide areas but Chelsea certainly does. Bournemouth tried as much as they could to stay compact, which meant they left the flanks exposed. Chelsea used a formation that gave them a lot of space in the wide areas, and their best chances came when they used the width of the pitch to their advantage.

Something glaring about Emerson’s play is that he often stays behind his winger, never overlapping, and therefore never giving his opposite number something else to worry about.

Marcos Alonso, on the other hand, is very good at occupying wide spaces and giving his winger a separate, more positive option. Alonso found himself in crossing positions throughout the game not because he’s fast, but because he has excellent positioning. He stayed close to the touchline, making sure Bournemouth’s right back could not commit to going forward in support of his own winger for fear of leaving space behind.

Reece James, Mason Mount and Marcos Alonso did stellar jobs occupying those spaces and getting the ball into more dangerous positions, or trying to find the forehead of Olivier Giroud.

Frank Lampard seems to like his wingers to play more narrowly, and his fullbacks to stay wide. The Bournemouth match showed why it is beneficial to exploit wide areas when you can take them, something that is easier to achieve with a three center-back defense.

2. Your movement moves the opposition

A noticeable feature of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City is their off-the-ball movement. Chelsea made sure that Bournemouth could not afford to keep their shape.

The Chelsea players moved into dangerous positions and created multiple options for the man on the ball. Chelsea’s movement between the lines was exceptional and even more so with the speed of their passing. Mason Mount, Olivier Giroud and Pedro did well to occupy the defensive midfielders and center backs, while at the same time Marcos Alonso and Reece James occupied the often exposed flanks. As a result the Bournemouth defenders had to commit to one of Chelsea’s central attackers or risk a ball behind their compact line.

The man on the ball often reacted to his teammate’s movement by either laying the ball off to one of this attackers, or getting the ball to the wings to one of his wingbacks. This wasn’t enough, because the Bournemouth defenders were content letting Chelsea’s wingbacks have the ball until James starting whipping in his dangerous crosses and Alonso started swinging in his fast, low crosses.

This ensured that the Bournemouth players were no longer comfortable with allowing James time on the ball. They then needed someone to close down Alonso and James, leaving other Chelsea players to occupy the spaces vacated by those Cherries moving towards the wingbacks.

Chelsea created many chances against Bournemouth with their movement and intelligent play. They broke down Bournemouth’s shape time and again. This showed that they are learning how to break down oppositions. Even though Chelsea did not win, they know that they now have the key to a low block, something they have needed all season and can make a difference going forward.

3. Always face the play

Throughout the game, it was obvious that Mateo Kovacic always tried to face play when he had the ball. Wherever he picked up the ball he made sure he was facing the opposition goal as early as possible. This helped him to see important runs from his team mates as well as switch play when the wide man was idle in space.

The same could not be said about Jorginho.

4. Keep your composure

Chelsea made sure that they did not panic, especially after going behind from a winning position. The players would have been understandably downtrodden from going a goal up and then going a goal down less than 15 minutes after half time. The players kept their heads and continued to meticulously break Bournemouth down.

This worked against what Bournemouth would have hoped for. They would have expected a young and inexperienced Chelsea to panic and get erratic.

Instead, the Chelsea players kept their cool and kept doing what they had been doing: moving the ball quickly, stretching the play, moving their center backs, and disrupting their shape.

5. Chelsea centerbacks should stay where they belong

Chelsea’s press was going to plan until Fikayo Tomori ran out of his defensive line way earlier than he should have. Marcos Alonso came out to press Ryan Fraser, pushing Fraser to pass it to Philip Billing. Unfortunately, Tomori committed to closing down and marking Billing too early, making it very easy for Billing to turn away from him and run into empty space. Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho were already on Billing, so Tomori should have stayed with his center-backs and acted as a final wall of defense.

Overall, Chelsea played well offensively, but conceded some very good chances, giving Bournemouth just as much of a chance as they had themselves. Reece James left Josh King unmarked for the second goal. Chelsea will have to correct these little details to avoid avoidable goals.

Not beating Bournemouth is not good enough. However you can play well and still not get the desired result, and that’s what happened on Saturday.