Chelsea played very well against Borussia Dortmund but, unfortunately, lost. A lot had ben said about Graham Potter and Chelsea’s previous performances before the game, and some will use this loss to reinforce their point that Potter is not the right man for the job, but a better way to evaluate this performance would be to take the positives and see if they are present in subsequent games. That said, here are four positives the Pride of London took from Chelsea’s Round of 16 first leg.
Ball winning in the final third
Chelsea’s pressing was superb in the Dortmund game. Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz, Joao Felix and Mykhailo Mudryk were relentless whenever the English side turned over possession high up the pitch. This was true throughout the game, but was more pronounced in the second half, as the Blues imposed themselves on Edin Terzic’s men for prolonged periods of time. This allowed Potter’s men to regain possession in valuable areas of the pitch, leaving Dortmund vulnerable for large parts of the game. Winning the ball back high up would be one of the things Potter would love to see as he builds his team, so watch to see if this continues.
Chance creation and attacking movement in the final third
CFC was very good on the ball in the final third. The off-the-ball movement from the four attackers and midfielders was great to see. Ziyech and Ruben Loftus-Cheek combined well on the right hand side. James also combined well with the Moroccan in buildup and creating overloads down Chelsea’s right side. Felix also combined well with Mudryk and Havertz down the left. CFC, impressively, created 21 chances, taking eight shots on target to Dortmund’s two, and creating three big chances to Dortmund’s one.
Kalidou Koulibaly
Koulibaly was solid, and did very well whenever he was called upon. He was also all action, nearly getting Chelsea a goal from a shot he took from inside Dortmund’s box. He made eight defensive actions and completed 93% of his passes.
Best Chelsea performance so far under Graham Potter
Chelsea was excellent in many areas of the game though many would look at it differently because of the result. The Blues willingness to win the ball back when they lost it, showed perhaps how Potter wants the team to be when they’re out of possession. More performances like this would go a long way in getting the fans onside, even if the result is not there.
Obviously there can’t be all good performances and no results. But if the Blues continue to play like this, it’s highly unlikely that the results will not come along with it the overwhelming majority of the time.