Chelsea vs Man City: Five things to look for in the Champions League final
By Varun Dani
4. The right side of the defence
The hallmark of a good defensive system is that when it comes to the big games, everyone knows who the starters will be. There is no room for doubt or speculation, as the consistency of the defence is what makes it so predictably great. Man City will have that nailed down on Saturday. Tuchel and Chelsea though, are about 60 percent (or 3/5) of the way there.
The left and central members of the back line are rather definite: Ben Chilwell (LWB), Antonio Rudiger (LCB) and Silva (CB) are guaranteed starters. When it comes to the right side of the defence though, a feeling of indecisiveness seeps in. Reece James, Andreas Christensen and Azpilicueta are all fit, so Tuchel has a decision on his hands.
Recently, Tuchel made the tactical switch to play James as the right centerback, pushing Azpilicueta to the wings. The trend started for the Leicester games, partly due to Christensen’s injury, but mostly to mark out Jamie Vardy. Vardy—as a speedy customer—was bound to exploit to space between Silva and Azpilicueta, with neither as quick as they used to be. It then made perfect sense to have the fitter James tasked to deal with him, and the ploy largely worked. The flip side of having a youngster like James in that position is that even the slightest lapses in concentration can have grave implications. James found that the hard way when his giveaway led to Leicester City’s winner in the FA Cup final.
While it seemed to be a one-team strategy, the fact that Tuchel deployed the same combination against Villa hints that Tuchel does not view Azpilicueta as a right centerback for now. If that is the case, would the return of Christensen be on the cards? The Dane is natural at the position after all, unlike James and Azpilicueta, and Chelsea has conceded a lot more goals without Christensen in the squad than with him. This would bring up further questions: Is the Dane truly fit to play? Does captain Azpilicueta miss out as James is a better wingback? These are questions Tuchel needs to figure out soon if the Blues stand a chance of weathering Man City’s offensive storm.