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The best managers are vultures: Chelsea’s current three at the back

By Travis Tyler

LEICESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 01: Antonio Rudiger of Chelsea celebrates with Andreas Christensen after scoring his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Chelsea FC at The King Power Stadium on February 01, 2020 in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
LEICESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 01: Antonio Rudiger of Chelsea celebrates with Andreas Christensen after scoring his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Chelsea FC at The King Power Stadium on February 01, 2020 in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 03: César Azpilicueta of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on October 03, 2020 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Visionhaus)
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 03: César Azpilicueta of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on October 03, 2020 in London, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Visionhaus) /

4. Chris Wilder’s wacky overlapping centerbacks

This slide would have been far easier to believe a year ago but Wilder did take a League One side into the Premier League (and nearly Europe) on the back of some avant garde ideas. Really, it’s just an old idea taken to an extreme but if the team has the players for it, it makes sense.

Overlapping centerbacks are exactly what they sound like. In a back three, those wider centerbacks will overlap the midfielders to assist in the attack. Wilder did this to compensate for 3-5-2 lacking wingers and his midfielders not being suited to moving out of position. It also takes advantage of a sort of “Frank Lampard Effect”. Opponents simply stop paying attention to players behind the play and get tunnel visioned on the players closest to it. That allows very smart players to come from deep and wreak havoc before anyone notices them.

Again, this is an old idea taken to the extreme. The old idea is one Conte used with Cesar Azpilicueta all the time. When Chelsea got into the final third, the opponent would often pull players away from the Chelsea midfield to help defend. This allowed Azpilicueta to step up and join the midfielders to widen the base behind the play.

An overlapping centerback would take that a step forward and join the attack, as Azpilicueta has at times under Tuchel. He’ll overlap the pivot and become a deep crossing option or simply another player in the overload. It does leave Chelsea short for a transition (2-2 instead of a 3-2 or 2-3) but the benefits can often outweigh the risks.

If Tuchel is looking to continue with three at the back, he will surely want more centerbacks like Azpilicueta capable of overlapping. Those will be hard to find but there is potential for players like Rudiger, Fikayo Tomori, or Reece James to be trained to do so over time.

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