Chelsea players on the flanks weren’t the problem against United

It’s easy to get carried away in the aftermath of a Chelsea loss, or in this case, a draw that feels like a loss. Sometimes the best thing is step away and stew on things rather than blurt out whatever is coming to mind.

In the light of a new day, it is easier to get at what actually happened in the match. Who was good, who was bad, who was just there. Much of the aftermath of the United draw focused on the wide players. Chelsea’s width wasn’t the issue, only that they had to use it.

The criticism was largely directed towards Marcos Alonso (by everyone) as well as Callum Hudson-Odoi and Hakim Ziyech (seemingly mutually exclusive which is an article in of itself). But they were victims of what United was trying to do perhaps more than anyone.

United came with a clear plan to stay narrow. Not just deep, which is what most will focus on, but narrow. They were so narrow that they practically gave up the flanks altogether. And that had its own genius.

Watch Chelsea training drills closely enough and you will find that the team often trains on a hexagon instead of a square or rectangle. The reason for this is twofold. First, the team is encouraged to play diagonally. Second, it funnels players together which helps for counter pressing and freeing up the flanks for switches of play.

But wait, isn’t the flank the issue here? Yes, but not the entire flank. What gets cut off in a hexagon? The corners. On the pitch, this is the area to the side of the box where a team’s only option is to cross. It’s one thing to move into that area and another to be corralled into it.

Looking at heatmaps, that was often the fate of Ziyech, Hudson-Odoi, Alonso, and occasionally Reece James too. United pushed Chelsea out to an area where the Blues have few options and one that they don’t train as often because they don’t desire to be there.

This might not have been an issue with Romelu Lukaku starting, but he is not yet trusted for whatever reason. Timo Werner can’t receive a cross in the same way and United knew it. Furthermore, United successfully clogged the center so well that it forced Chelsea out wider, which only made United’s job easier. Chelsea was unable to control the center like they usually do and want to as they were pushed to where they would be ineffective.

That’s why so many of the “wide” players did poorly, though few will agree on who did most poorly or least poorly. Hudson-Odoi, with better finishing, could have changed the game. Alonso, with more decisiveness deeper on the pitch, could have changed the game. Ziyech, with less of a desire to go wide and wait for an underlapping player, could have changed the game. But none of them did as United put them where they wanted them.

Chelsea faced similar issues with Frank Lampard towards the end. There are solutions, and few teams will be able to do what United did, but it is a noteworthy weakness of the team. The flanks are escape routes, not entry lanes. The Blues will need to sharpen up before other teams catch on and learn how to do this to them.