The Blues were battered in Germany, but Frank Lampard did give a few indications as to how he might use Chelsea next season.
When Antonio Conte’s Chelsea was getting battered by Arsenal, he made the decision to switch the formation to a 3-4-3. It failed to yield a result in that match, but the idea stuck and the Blues went on a rampage to win the league at a then historic trot.
Sometimes losses are able to give those glimpses into the future. While Frank Lampard is no stranger of making tactical adjustments for the opponent, a few features stood out against Bayern Munich despite the loss.
First of all is the lower line and more controlled press. Of course, playing against a team like Bayern Munich, that makes a ton of sense. It kept Chelsea compact until their heads clearly dropped and gave them a chance of breakaway goals through Tammy Abraham or Callum Hudson-Odoi. The press being reined in also gave Bayern less space to work with as they progressed up the field.
Of the tweaks on the day, this is the one that was more about the opponent than an overall desire of play. Chelsea had to do something to slow Bayern Munich down, and had Willy Caballero not given up a foolish penalty early, it may have worked out for the Blues. Once their task was made even more difficult, shoulders and heads dropped and no tactic over comes that.
Another interesting note is the initial formation was a 4-2-3-1 with Mateo Kovacic and N’Golo Kante in the pivot with a freer band of three ahead of them. It has been some time since Lampard has used the formation many expected him to run with this season and it made sense on the day. Two pivot players, often flanked by the wingers, forced Bayern to play wider and think harder about breaking Chelsea down. It also gave the Blues more options in a deeper, pressed midfield to play with the ball before looking for the direct pass.
Later on in the match, however, Lampard readjusted to a 4-3-3. Instead of playing N’Golo Kante deepest, as he had been doing, Kovacic lined up as the deepest player with Kante in a wider role. Kante’s wider positioning allowed him to press the ball more, but the usage of Kovacic was the most interesting.
Kovacic has only briefly played as the deepest midfielder for Chelsea, primarily because it hinders his dribbling. But given that he can do most everything a “regista” is expected to do, but better than the player on the roster whose job that is, it does make some sense to use him there. Kovacic’s exact role has always been hard to pin down beyond being a sort of “glue” between more defensive players and more offensive players. Using him in the role against Bayern worked, more or less and it could be an interesting indication of next season.
Mason Mount’s position next year is more or less locked down despite what the boo boys say as they set the Xbox controller down to comment. All the new signings, including the potential signing of Kai Havertz, would surely yield starters. In midfield that will leave just one spot available.
Recent weeks made it look as though it would be Kante, but Kovacic has had too good of a season to suggest benching him. Kante’s injury issues, should they continue, may give Kovacic the opening to play deepest in midfield next season. It may not be ideal against certain opponents, but it was certainly not the issue against Bayern.
Now Chelsea has a week or so to vacation (so much as that is possible) before returning for “preseason”. New signings are expected in addition to those already made and Frank Lampard and company will need to reevaluate and reprogram for the new season. There are indications this is all moving in the right direction, away from beat downs by Bayern, but there is still much work to be done.