Negatives - Continued
3. Lack of a tactical plan
Chelsea started on the back foot, unable to get a hold of the game. Once Arsenal scored, they dropped deeper, allowing Chelsea more possession. As seen recently under Maresca, Chelsea had no clear tactical approach to make the most of it.
One of the few players who regularly looks to pick out attacking runs is Tosin Adarabioyo. Yet he was benched and only introduced near the 90th minute.
When Chelsea had the ball, they spent most of their time recycling possession between the backline and midfield. Occasionally, an attacker would drop deep for a touch, but there was no movement or intent to stretch Arsenal’s defense. Simply passing the ball around was never going to create space to attack. Chelsea was not doing enough in possession.
Set-pieces were another missed opportunity. Pedro Neto’s two corners in the game both hit the first defender, an issue that has plagued Chelsea for years. If the ball is aimed toward the near post, someone needs to redirect it toward the back post or the middle, but Chelsea had no one positioned to do that.