Chelsea has a short turn around to fix themselves for Aston Villa. It doesn’t matter what their tactics are if the Blues can’t get basics right.
Normally, these talking tactic pieces are reserved to explain what the opponent normally does and what Chelsea can do in response. It would be a disservice to Dean Smith’s current work at Aston Villa to not at least touch on some of that but simply put it doesn’t really matter what the Villans do if Chelsea doesn’t even get the basics right. No manager can overcome a team that can’t pass, run, or act like they belong at that level of the game.
That’s how Chelsea played against Arsenal but it is an issue that began as early as Everton, continued against Wolves, and was merely masked against West Ham. Is it tiredness? Maybe, but even still the Blues played with so little passion in a derby that fatigue cannot be the only excuse.
So while tactics always have their place, they simply won’t matter much if Chelsea turns up again like they did against Arsenal. Aston Villa would slaughter the club worse than they did Liverpool the moment they let their focus slip. Anything short of 100 percent will bite the Blues against a team that knows no other way this season.
Villa’s success is not because Jack Grealish is a superstar suddenly. It isn’t because they have a fantastic XI to field. It’s simply because that XI would die for each other and their manager. Surviving last year (dubious as it might have been) wasn’t a moment to slack off for them. It only brought them together more to push on.
That spirit has continued this season and it cannot be more different than Chelsea in recent matches. Against Arsenal, did anyone really look like they would do whatever it takes to win? Maybe Tammy Abraham and Callum Hudson-Odoi with a few sparks from others. But overall it was a soulless performance. It isn’t a new phenomenon for Chelsea either. This issue has existed for years, only temporarily being curtailed. It got Jose Mourinho sacked. It got Antonio Conte sacked. It might just get Frank Lampard sacked if the players don’t finally wake up and act like being at Chelsea is a privilege instead of placement.
Villa show cased themselves well against Crystal Palace. Going down a man, they went on to score another two goals. Not once did Palace really look like they had a man advantage. Rather than get deflated from the red card, they rallied and rammed their way through. Chelsea, after conceding a penalty, wilted. That’s the difference this match week.
Smith and Lampard could both pull out whatever tactics they want for this match but sometimes it really does come down to which team wants it more. That really shouldn’t be the case for a team that barely survived relegation against a team with title aspirations but here it is. If the Blues want to reset the campaign before it’s too late, it starts with Aston Villa.