Chelsea travels to Sevilla on Wednesday night, with tactics at the forefront of the Champions League Group E decider. What do the Blues need to win?
If it feels like the 2020/21 Champions League campaign only began mere moments ago, that’s because it did, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t reached crunch time. It’s here alright. It’s in the air, and that air will have an Andalusian zest (cause oranges) on Wednesday, as Chelsea travels to Seville knowing that a win will essentially seal premium progression to the knockout round.
Standing in their way is a stuttering Sevilla side that remains on its day one of the toughest opponents around. I say stuttering, because it hasn’t always been pretty, but two points ahead of Barcelona and one behind Real Madrid with a game in hand tells the story of its effectiveness, however crippled the Classico counterparts may be right now.
As we saw in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge, what this team lacks is goals and that fact won’t be helped by the potential loss of Newcastle Legend Luuk de Jong, a player whose three goals so far this season represent a whopping 16.6 percent of the team’s total output. What it has in abundance is defensive nous, as shown by the eight goals they’ve conceded in nine La Liga games, the third-best record in the division. Getting through that stubborn system will be key to Chelsea returning to the capital with a result, and it’s something they haven’t necessarily excelled at in recent times.
Now, that’s not necessarily a complaint. The Blues have yet to embarrass themselves in games against so-called top opponents, with the only loss coming against Liverpool with 10-men. They just haven’t scored against any of them either. And it’s the question of whether they can change that fact that may dictate the fate of this fixture. So far, Frank Lampard has not seemed keen to unleash his attacking legions onto such defenses, focusingf instead on saving grace at the back. The recent hosting of Tottenham was a prime example of this fact. But it was also a prime example of a game which Chelsea could’ve won with a bit more impetus and adventurousness, or a bit more player-based flexibility in the tactics. Tammy Abraham never looked like nestling one of those enticing Hakim Ziyech/Reece James crosses. Olivier Giroud’s twitching on the bench – and, you know, his all-round game – suggested he did.
Whether he would have changed the game had he come on earlier is purely hypothetical, but what’s not is that Lampard either failed to see or refused to acknowledge Abraham’s woes, and the team then failed to capitalize on the Frenchman’s presence, inexplicably reducing the number of balls into the box.
Such protective passivity needs to be neglected on Wednesday evening if the Blues really want to stamp down their authority on the continent. Involving Giroud or not, it’s clear that rotation will be fundamental to not only this game plan but all moving forward. And that offers Lampard the chance to give attackers like Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Kai Havertz the long leash they may need to make their talent pay on the scoreline.
November was a month of impressive growth, and there’s no doubt caution was required following the feckless draws against Burnley and Southampton. But December can be a month of domination should they choose to embrace it, and that starts with facing the Sevillan low block with gritted teeth and an assassin’s smile.