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Into the depths part 3: Chelsea’s wingbacks the drivers of the system

By Travis Tyler

Chelsea's German head coach Thomas Tuchel (L) embraces Chelsea's English defender Reece James (R) during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on February 4, 2021. (Photo by NEIL HALL / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by NEIL HALL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea's German head coach Thomas Tuchel (L) embraces Chelsea's English defender Reece James (R) during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on February 4, 2021. (Photo by NEIL HALL / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by NEIL HALL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 26: Ben Chilwell of Chelsea FC and Bukayo Saka of Arsenal in action during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on December 26, 2020 in London, England. The match will be played without fans, behind closed doors as a Covid-19 precaution. (Photo by Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 26: Ben Chilwell of Chelsea FC and Bukayo Saka of Arsenal in action during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on December 26, 2020 in London, England. The match will be played without fans, behind closed doors as a Covid-19 precaution. (Photo by Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images) /

2. Ben Chilwell

If there is any position at Chelsea that was truly 50/50 at the moment, it’s the left wingback role. At the start of the season, the coin flip has been coming up Marcos Alonso but it’s only a matter of time before Chilwell starts making his case once again.

On paper, it should be expected that Chilwell is the more common choice. Most teams Chelsea will play against will sit back and dare the Blues through. Chilwell is able to quickly advance the play and cut in from deep (not high, like Alonso is fantastic at) and send crosses into the box. Those same sorts of teams are more likely to counter as well, another area that Chilwell performs better than Alonso.

The only real concern Chilwell should have is that this is not the first time he has been out of Tuchel’s team. Alonso is prone to great runs of form but Chilwell is the future of the role for Chelsea. It’s not ideal that his last match was the Champions League final. When break ends, he’ll need to be given minutes to get match fit before he becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

3. Marcos Alonso

Alonso has had a weird Chelsea career. If one ventures into the part of Chelsea fandom that screams into cameras about the uselessness of a player, they will likely come away with a childish and ill informed view about Alonso. One can’t deny that physically, Alonso lacks compared to Chilwell. But actually watching the game reveals a highly intelligent player and one that is rarely as caught out as advertised.

Take the Liverpool pre match chatter, for example. There was a great fear of Alonso up against Mohammed Salah. Now, does anyone remember him being caught out by the Egyptian? Nope. The only thing people remember about that match in regards to Alonso is him heading the ball out of Edouard Mendy’s hands prior to Anthony Taylor making the game about him. Ideal? No. Only remembered because it is Alonso? Probably.

The fact of the matter is he and Chilwell are the closest rivals the squad has. Both offer different skill sets and both are fully capable of playing against nearly any opponent Chelsea faces. Alonso was long seen as inferior to Emerson. He’s gone. And while Alonso likely won’t win out in the long run against Chilwell, he’s going to put up a hell of a fight for the boo boys to enjoy.

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