Chelsea’s High Press vs Newcastle: Tactical Strengths, Weaknesses and Adjustments
By Fahd Ahmed
Tactical Adjustments in the First Half
Maresca quickly recognized the need to adjust Chelsea’s approach to Newcastle’s midfield overload. By the 26th minute, Maresca instructed Chelsea’s opposite winger to drift infield to mark the free Newcastle midfielder. This tactical shift risked leaving a Newcastle full-back unmarked, but Maresca deemed it worth the trade-off since Chelsea would have time to reposition if the away side attempted a long switch of play.
In the 29' though, this plan isn't carried through. Unless of course, Maresca's plan was to have a different strategy depending on where the ball way played through. More on this later.
— Fahd (@fahdahmed987) October 30, 2024
If it was down Newcastle's right, Jackson follows Guimaraes. If it was down their left, Neto… pic.twitter.com/7XhU7mB3eq
However, the Blues did not always carry out this adjustment. In the 29th minute, for instance, Jackson followed Guimarães when Newcastle passed to Tino Livramento, but the press faltered as Newcastle easily accessed their free center-back. This inconsistency in Chelsea’s execution became a recurring theme, with Neto and Jackson occasionally failing to follow their designated markers and leaving gaps for the visitors to exploit.
Newcastle’s Goal and Defensive Breakdowns
Newcastle’s goal exposed further breakdowns in Chelsea’s press. The sequence leading to the goal began as Guimarães exploited an unmarked space left by a lapse in Chelsea’s pressing structure. Neto, Palmer, and Jackson had initially positioned well but failed to track their markers consistently, allowing Newcastle to break through. Noni Madueke’s defensive lapse compounded Chelsea’s vulnerability as he failed to support Malo Gusto, who was left in a 2v1 situation. With Gusto drawn out by Harvey Barnes, Lewis Hall provided the assist for Isak’s goal.
Madueke also does extremely poorly here as he fails to track back and support Gusto, who's overloaded 2v1 as Hall has pushed up.
— Fahd (@fahdahmed987) October 30, 2024
By the way, Hall gets the assist for Isak's goal because Barnes drags Gusto before passing it to Hall. pic.twitter.com/J5aiDTrLAu
Maresca attempted another tactical alteration by encouraging Chelsea’s center-backs to step forward and mark the free Newcastle midfielder. Levi Colwill executed this in one instance, allowing the Blues to regain control. Yet, in the 39th minute, Chelsea reverted to their adjusted approach, with Neto again drifting infield to mark Tonali, demonstrating the utility of Maresca’s in-game adjustments.