Chelsea took a draw against Sevilla in the opening match of this season’s Champions League. What lessons were learned from the tight affair?
After the 3-3 draw that felt like a loss to Southampton, Chelsea had two tough matches to rebound. First up was Sevilla which was a pretty dour 0-0 draw, but it did feature some positives. At the same time, it brought up more negatives to keep in mind for Manchester United. What lessons were learned?
1. Less Jorginho, More Mateo Kovacic
While it would be hard to heap praise on any Chelsea player in the first half against Sevilla, Jorginho was easily the furthest from receiving any plaudits. A yellow card in the 14 minute is always less than ideal, but when it goes to your defensive midfielder when the opposition is already steamrolling you all over the pitch, it’s a calamity waiting to happen.
Rather than rein in his aggression and start playing a more conservative role, the Italian actually came perilously close to earning a second yellow in the first half, something that would almost certainly have led to a heavy loss for the Blues. By halftime, the necessary change was obvious to any even remotely alert viewer. For whatever reason, Frank Lampard seemed hesitant to bite the bullet.
It took a full 20 minutes after halftime for Mateo Kovacic to mercifully replace Jorginho, and Chelsea immediately looked more active and cohesive. Kovacic’s energy and physicality were the perfect antidote in midfield, exponentially improving on Jorginho’s contributions while also making up for N’Golo Kante’s generally poor performance. It says everything that Kovacic recorded four total tackles, good for third best on the team, despite only playing 25 minutes.
While Chelsea can thank Kovacic for helping seal a rare clean sheet, the lesson for Lampard should be obvious. While the big-man-little-man combination in the midfield pivot makes sense in theory, Jorginho simply doesn’t fit that role. Kovacic does, both defensively and going forward, though he’s hardly the “big man” to Kante’s “little man.” His ability to run with the ball makes him an important part of starting any counter attack, a job that Kante has been struggling to do so far this season. Lampard has tried pairing Kante and Kovacic together in the midfield with varied results, but it now looks like a near necessity, so long as Lampard sticks with the double pivot.
As for Jorginho, it would make sense to use him more sparingly. His role should be more like a closing pitcher in baseball, where he can come in late in a match and serve as a fresh-legged focal point to control possession and see out games. That may seem like a misuse of his talents, but his performance against Sevilla showed that he’s not a viable option in the current system. If Kovacic is fit, Jorginho can’t start. It’s as simple as that.