A fiercely competitive encounter at Stamford Bridge ended in a hard-earned 1-1 draw, marked by tactical nuance and tightly contested battles across the pitch. The Pride of London will dive into the details of how both teams shaped the outcome in this tactical breakdown.
A Cautious Start
Chelsea kicked off with a spell of possession, while Arsenal settled into a well-drilled 4-4-2 mid-block. The visitor's initial approach was passive, covering Chelsea’s central defensive midfielders Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia but pressing only when a specific trigger emerged. When Arsenal’s frontline advanced to press Chelsea’s backline, they often left the defensive midfielders unmarked, focusing instead on marking Chelsea’s central midfielders higher up the field.
With the Arsenal DMs being pulled wide apart by the Chelsea 8s, similar to the Liverpool game, Jackson had the opportunity to drop into the pocket and receive the ball.
— Fahd (@fahdahmed987) November 10, 2024
Chelsea did well to find him, however, similar to many aspects of the game, the home side could not make the… pic.twitter.com/QpYkVNq2NS
Chelsea found some success bypassing Arsenal’s initial press by targeting Caicedo and Lavia in deeper areas. However, these opportunities rarely led to anything significant - an area where the Blues could have done better.