Aston Villa vs Chelsea: Tactical Analysis & Match Report (2-1)

Another match passes as Chelsea squander their lead once again, further slipping away from Champions League qualification. Last night’s deflating defeat to Aston Villa marked yet another frustrating chapter for Enzo Maresca, despite his astute tactical adjustments.

Chelsea have been struggling to find their feet since losing form in December. After back-to-back defeats against Brighton, Enzo Maresca was desperate to lift the morale as he prepared the Blues to face Aston Villa. Despite taking the lead, Chelsea slipped again as Villa secured a comeback victory. In this article, we will comprehensively analyse the match and delve into the tactical details.

Chelsea’s Out-of-Possession Approach

Let’s begin with Chelsea’s out-of-possession approach, specifically their high press. Chelsea aimed to block central access into the defensive midfielders early by man-marking them while using the wingers to curve their runs and press the Villa centre-backs. Hence, Chelsea set up in a -1 zonal high press system, which would transition into a man-to-man press if the frontline press was broken.

Chelsea generally used Christopher Nkunku (left-wing) to curve his run with Marc Cucurella ready to jump onto Matty Cash (right-back) if he was found in possession. Meanwhile, Villa built from the back in a 5-2-4 shape, with goalkeeper Emi Martínez involved.

However, this wasn’t a flat front four, as Morgan Rogers (right-wing) would often drift infield, vacating the flanks, and on the opposite side, Jacob Ramsey would do the same. This was done to encourage the fullbacks to advance and join the attack when Villa built through the thirds.

Several issues became evident early in the game with Chelsea’s high press. Firstly, the pairing of Enzo Fernández and Reece James to mark Villa’s pivots didn’t quite work. Fernández is not the physical or defensive profile needed for a high pressing role (as evidenced when he was spun by John McGinn), and James didn’t look fully match sharp.

Nkunku’s off-ball intensity was lacking. He took too much time to press the centre-back, allowing Villa time to move the ball and find space in the middle, or to pass to a free man. Marcos Asensio found too much space in the middle because Chelsea’s centre-back Levi Colwill didn’t stay tight enough to him, potentially due to the threat of Ollie Watkins, whom he would have wanted to double up on. While Maresca’s tactical setup was sound in theory, some individual roles and responsibilities weren’t ideal.