Chelsea four lessons learnt against Rennes: Depth, balance

Chelsea snuck past Rennes thanks in part to their depth. Balance was an issue in the squad even as some stood up and got counted.

Chelsea took on Rennes away from home in what was, on paper at least, supposed to be a relatively straightforward game considering the form of the respective teams as well as Chelsea’s clear strength in depth. This was a notion most certainly reinforced by the away side’s bright start to the game. However, a strong second-half showing from Rennes meant that Chelsea ultimately had to dig in deep and ride their luck in equal parts before Olivier Giroud’s 91st-minute winner allowed the Blues all three points and a spot in the Round of 16 with 2 matches to go. Here are the lessons learnt from Rennes 1-2 Chelsea.

1. Edouard Mendy comes up big against his former team

As impressive as Mendy’s clean sheet record at Chelsea is, it could be argued that the opposition Chelsea’s new custodian has faced in his first 10 starts hasn’t been providing the sternest of tests. A clear indication of this would be an analysis of the expected goal value opposition teams have recorded in the league games Mendy has featured in thus far which all fall below 1.0. This would mean that the quality of chances opposition forwards are getting against Chelsea are relatively low, a testament to the improvements in defense but also prove that Mendy really hasn’t faced many top-quality shots.

Against Rennes however, the Senegalese’s former team posted a significant threat going forward, especially in the second half. Their expected goal value of 1.26 is a testament to Rennes’ potency in attack and doubles up as the highest expected goal value Mendy has faced in his young Chelsea career. Yet, Mendy was once again equal to all but one of the efforts Rennes was able to muster on his goal, making four vital saves including a point-blank header from Gerzino Nyamsi in the 74th minute in what has to be his finest performance yet in a Chelsea kit.

Moreover, the 28-year-old was once again solid in the commanding of his area and his confidence certainly rubs off on the defenders ahead of him, qualities which statistics alone are unable to give him the due credit he deserves. If there were doubters before, Mendy’s performance levels here would certainly put an end to any such notions from here on out.