Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool: Johnson wins it late
The first half line-ups
An excellent tactical battle ended with Liverpool snatching the three points.
Andre Villas-Boas went for Didier Drogba over Fernando Torres upfront. David Luiz played alongside John Terry, with Branslav Ivanovic at right-back.
Kenny Dalglish surprisingly selected Maxi Rodriguez, excellent at Stamford Bridge last season, on the left. Craig Bellamy played just off Luis Suarez upfront.
A few phases of the game here – Liverpool were better in the first half, Chelsea took command in the second, and then Liverpool clawed themselves back into the game late on.
Formations
With the versatility of the front four, Liverpool could have set up in various ways. In the end, it was a 4-4-1-1ish shape – Suarez played left-of-centre against Luiz, Bellamy dropped deeper as a link player, Dirk Kuyt stayed very high up against Ashley Cole and came into the centre of the pitch when Liverpool got the ball, and Rodriguez started much deeper close to Adam, but tried to break forward inside Ivanovic.
Chelsea were their usual 4-3-3 – Ramires worked hard to close down Charlie Adam early on (as Scott Parker did so well) and attempted to deny him time on the ball to turn or play good passes. The wide players struggled to get into the game, and Cole was nullified by Kuyt.
Pressing
Liverpool closed down well from the front – Suarez, Kuyt and Bellamy are all naturally chasers, and they worked hard high up the pitch. There was often a slight problem in that the pressure didn’t always continue in midfield – Adam was usually up against Ramires, Lucas watched Lampard, and Mikel sometimes went free until Bellamy dropped deeper on him. The one exception to this, of course, was the goal – when Adam moved higher up and robbed Mikel, the surprise factor explaining (if not justifying) his sloppiness on the ball.
The interplay that resulted in Rodriguez’s chance was excellent, and it’s worth pointing out that in their pre-match warm-up, Liverpool’s attacking four plus Adam were practising a very similar move (whilst the defenders worked separately and Lucas worked on defensive headers with a coach). Adam would fire the ball into Bellamy or Suarez, the wide players would come inside, a couple of quick passes would be played, and then one player would finish. The similarity with the goal – albeit with Adam winning a tackle rather than playing a pass – was remarkable.
Chelsea’s passing was poor in the first half. Too often they resorted to hopeful long balls towards Drogba – it would be interesting to know if they played that way because Drogba was in the side, or if Drogba was in the side because Villas-Boas wanted to play that way. Either way, it didn’t work.
Half-time changes
The line-ups once Dalglish had reacted to Chelsea's half-time switch
Andre Villas-Boas did exactly what he did when he found himself trailing to Manchester United – he removed a midfielder, brought on Daniel Sturridge, and Juan Mata became the central playmaker in a 4-2-1-3 shape. Mikel was the man sacrificed.
After period working out how Chelsea had changed – and a brief time struggling to get the message across to his players on the far side – Dalglish reacted. Rodriguez was brought inside from the left, Bellamy went out to that flank, and Adam moved across slightly. Liverpool were now 4-1-4-1ish.
That was quite a reactive move, and it’s debatable whether such a shift was necessary at that time. Chelsea, as we know from the Arsenal game, are vulnerable to runs in behind their defence and can be hit quickly on the break. Taking away Bellamy’s pace from that zone was a shame in that respect, and having been on the front foot for much of the first period, Liverpool now dropped deeper and deeper, with captain Pepe Reina continually screaming at his defenders to move higher up the pitch.
Mata was much more involved after the break – 32 passes attempted compared to 20 in the first half – his positioning was excellent, and he helped drive Chelsea forward. He cleverly drifted either side of Lucas, hampered by an early booking, and caused the Brazilian more problems than in the first half. To make a wider point, Lucas is better at scrapping and sweeping up in front of the back four as a ’spare’ player than when forced to track a specific man – and with Mata playing higher up than Frank Lampard did in the first half, he now had a problem. When he tracked Mata closely, he was dragged away from his preferred zone so Lampard and Florent Malouda could find room, and when he let Mata go, the Spaniard got passes into feet.
Adam also didn’t seem to appreciate being moved to a right-centre position to allow Rodriguez to move inside, and this contributed to Malouda getting space for the equaliser.
Latter stages
The wider problem was that Liverpool were being overrun in the middle, but Dalglish saved it with a clever substitution. Bellamy made way, which pushed Rodriguez back over to the left (he wasn’t a force in the middle) and Jordan Henderson provided fresh legs. From then, Chelsea dominated much less.
Villas-Boas waited until very late on to introduce Torres – inevitably, for Drogba – but the change didn’t work. Torres was only on for three minutes, when Liverpool went 2-1 ahead. Having gone long too frequently when Drogba was on the pitch, Chelsea now had to be direct…but now had Torres upfront, clearly less of a force in the air.
To make a wider point again, this can be a problem in this situation if a manager opts for a target man rather than a quick striker from the start. Defences tend to start the match defending high up and then drop deeper, and by the time the quick striker appears, there isn’t enough space in behind to exploit, and you’re better off having someone who can win the ball in the box. Another example here was Manchester United’s defeat to Manchester City in last season’s FA Cup semi-final, when Javier Hernandez came on when City were happy to sit deep.
Johnson’s goal was very well-taken individually but two other points deserve mention – John Terry’s strange reluctance to move over into a covering position, and Kuyt’s move from right to left shortly before Adam’s excellent pass, which probably contributed to Terry’s poor positioning.
Conclusion
A fairly evenly-balanced game overall… even if it was rarely evenly-balanced at any one moment, either side dominating at different moments.
Liverpool’s first half performance forced Villas-Boas into a change – and Chelsea’s recovery, in turn, forced Dalglish to react. The key decisions that influenced the pattern of the game were Mata becoming a number ten, and later Henderson being introduced to help Liverpool in the centre of the pitch.
One final point – overall, the shooting from both sides was poor:
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ADVERT
Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool: Johnson wins it late
At least Liverpool didn’t hit the bar.
I walked away from this game with two thoughts.
First, Lucas is developing into a really useful player. I know that Juan Mata tortured him at times but, overall, I was extremely impressed – he’s added so much toughness to his game over the last few months.
Second, Chelsea have a major personnel problem. I think that, despite how early it still is, AVB has gotten all he ever will from the players at his disposal. There simply aren’t very many more options in terms of formation or, most pertinently, combinations up front – Chelsea need rejuvenation fast.
Great analysis ZM (I especially liked the bit about Liverpool’s warm-up!)
One thought I had after watching the game was that Chelsea’s backline gave away possession too often which kept their midfield from being able to push the ball up the field and left their attackers isolated. If they cut back on the bull headed runs from David Luiz into groups of defenders then maybe their forward three would have proved to be enough.
This should of been a Liverpool rout in all honesty – Suarez despite the praise he receives is very innefficient & wasteful. He dropped in between lines cleverly and had the potential to network well, but his one touch Passing is useless; often way too heavy or wayward. In and around the box, he Suarez got in good positions but often tried to manufacture a turn, flick and through ball with reasonable leverage to execute his customary dive in one manoever (if a defender got tight) – in the end he frustrated.
What was surprising for me was how poor Chels are…. Too ponderous and indecisive on the ball and utterly unorganised without it. It seems AVB has a grand restructure in mind, and the flaws in it’s implementation are being ruthlessly exposed vs. more competent opponents.
Suarez wasn’t bad, but it was his worst game for Liverpool this season. Chelsea were lucky to still be in the game at half time. Liverpool wasted a number of not only good chances, but openings that should have led to good chances. It wasn’t just Suarez who was wasteful! Kuyt and Bellamy also either took the wrong option or executed badly at crucial times. If Chelsea were playing Barca it would have been 8-0!
Lucas has been more than ‘useful’ for years now. Hugely underated player.
I think he has been Liverpool’s most consistent player these last 2 seasons
“Chelsea have a major personnel problem. There simply aren’t very many more options in terms of formation or, most pertinently, combinations up front – Chelsea need rejuvenation fast.”
right – obviously with only Torres, Drogba, Anelka, Sturridge, Mata, Malouda, and Kalou, Chelsea are veritable paupers in terms of talented forwards, so they should “rejuvenate” (I imagine you mean “buy more players”).
more perceptive commentators (including ZM) have noted that Villas-Boas is seeking to change the mentality behind Chelsea’s play. since Mourinho they’ve been a team that drops deep to defend, but their new manager is an advocate of playing higher up the field. this change, in my view, has discomfited the team and negatively impacted their tactical chemistry in the short term.
it is true that some of their stalwarts (Terry, Anelka, Drogba, Lampard) are relatively old and will eventually need replacing, but the prescription i’d say they really need is more drilling on the tactical/positioning ramifications of pressing their opponents.
Hey ZM
I have a question about striker substitution.
If pacy striker is not suitable to come out when trailing from behind, then why ole solskjaer was so successful as being a sub? He is not known for his quality to win the ball in the box though.
Solskjear Was actually good in the air. Also man u at that time had so many different atticking threats solskjear was not the main threat opposing defenders had to contest with
Solskjaer also never had to chase a game as the lone striker either. Ever. He always had a strike partner who could be the more “direct” player while Solskjaer could poach as he did excellently.
Solskjaer has benefited from superb services from the likes of Scholesy, Beckham and Giggsy throughout his time at ManUtd. He’s a great poacher and has superb positioning sense, but he always needed help from his teammates.
In both ZM’s examples (this match and the Manchester FA semi finals derby) Chicharito and Torres didn’t get the services they needed for them to be effective. Rooney was sorely missed in that derby, and Torres just didn’t have enough time to do anything at all in this game. Also, I think Mata needs to play the Gerrard role for Torres, and Chelsea probably needs to switch to a 4-4-1-1 for Torres to be effective
Also, a target man is usually more effective against a deeper defence when there is another player to knock the ball down to – a fox in the box if you will, rather than having to play up front alone.
See the Munich – Dortmund analysis where Olic was brought on late on for this reason.
Nice analysis, as always !
One point/question about general formation of Chelsea. When trying to play the ball from the back and (as an obvious counter-tactic) with opposition pressing initially, doesn’t it make more sense to have a double-pivot in the midfield ? It would help in creating more options for passing out from the back and also plug some of the gaps resulting from the CBs staying wide or FBs staying up.
Another issue that you’ve pointed out is with target man striker, Drogba, Mata on the wing will not help stretch the play and all the time Chelsea were playing in front of Liverpool There’s no way that combination was going to work.
Thats exactly my thoughts. Yesterday when Mikel received the ball from Cech, there was hardly any passing option either side of him. Ramires and Lampard were way too forward and CBs were wide so as to cover the fullbacks. An intelligent deep lying playmaker alongside the DM would be the perfect fit imo. He would provide an outlet to pass to when a player comes under pressure. Also, having an extra player in the deep means, we won’t get outnumbered in the middle if we lose possession.
I suppose it’s not exactly tactics to instruct your goalie not to give the ball to a marked man, or a man with no options, but it would nonetheless be sensible advice.
There were two options for Mikel. One was to pass to Ashley Cole who was on his left and who repeatedly yelled out for him to pass and the other was to pass it back to Cech to kick out.
I suppose you are referring to Terry, not Ashley, because Ashley was closely marked by Kuyt. Yeah, Mikel could have passed to Cech or to Terry and they could have cleared the ball. Mikel definitely made an error of judgement and it was poor from him. But when there are four Liverpool players pressing high, and Chelsea trying to build from the back, you would expect an extra midfielder dropping to provide a passing outlet. I suppose that is partially due to Chelsea’s single DM formation.
Juust hope Villas-Boas can get this lot playing like Porto soon, they were really impressive.
Is the problem the Terry-Lampard axcis in the dressing room?
Neither seems suited to Villas-Boas’ appraoch to the game and both have form when it comes to new managers
Chelsea – I think Luiz can become a great player, but in todays game, he was poor and completely outdone by suarez. He needs to learn to read the game better (which will come with age) and also more crucially not dive in too much (something he is prone too). He has all the attributes but needs to improve mentally. Terry looked troubled because of this, as he had to cover for his team mate and also had trouble with liverpools play which was based on movement and quick balls across the ground (terry’s weakness). Ivanovic looked solid defensively and helped double up on Suarez after Luiz was having trouble. But he rarely went forward (not his strength) when there was space to exploit. Cole similarly failed to venture forward (well marshaled by Kuyt) which left Chelsea missing a crucial weapon.
In midfield, Mikel had a bad game, rarely picking up bellamy, and giving the ball away far too easily. He was the player with the most time, yet failed to set the tempo for Chelsea, was far too cautious and hugely disappointing. Ramires did a great job pressing Adams and made sure Liverpool couldnt create good moves from that zone. Lampard also did a good job pressing lucas when on the ball, and made sure liverpool were disrupted in the middle of the park. But this pressing was useless and Chelsea didnt press all over with the fullbacks in particular not pressing liverpools wingers, leaving them free. Chelsea passing in midfield was also poor, with mikel and ramires giving the ball away far too much and Lampard failing to play any great balls to his forwards.
Further up the pitch, Mata looked harmless on the right and didnt really get into any dangerous positions, prefering to drift into the centre which left Chelsea lacking width. Malouda got into some good positions, but was starved of the ball. Drogba competed for every long ball well, but was lacking the classy first touch and killer finish usually showed by him (needs more games).
After the changes Chelsea looked much better, with Mata moved centrally, he was getting the ball and creating great opportunities for his team mates. Sturridge had a big impact, giving chelsea more width and looking a big threat latching onto Matas brilliant balls into the penalty area. Malouda also got into the game and looked dangerous, especially when he got into space in front of the penalty area. Lampard was also able to make unchecked runs forward from midfield, though ramires looked uncomfortable as the deepest player and was lucky he wasnt tested by maxi, though when Henderson came on, his positional weakness became more apparent.
Overall, Chelsea looked weak defensively, unable to handle liverpools attackers, even when they were on top, while they lost the midfield battle, regained it, then lost it again. They did however look dangerous up front, with drogba growing into the game, mata creating for fun when moved centrally, Malouda much more dangerous when given the ball and Sturridge making excellent runs into the penalty area.
He needs to learn to read the game better – The capital of England is London.
I know AVB is trying to instil the qualities his porto side had last season into chelsea, but with the players currently at his diposal not being up to those standards required, surely he should fit chelsea’s game around the players available? The he could make the changes he wants when he has the correct personnel? this stinks a little of square pegs in round holes (or whatever the phrase is) and after all AVB said he has to adapt to the team as well as the other way round when he first joined – so i’m not sure what he’s doing.
‘Silk purse from a sow’s ear’ is the cliche you’re after.
Snigger.
Seriously though, he wants them to play CL-winning football, not English football, which doesn’t win anything.
absolutely right. Bellamy must have been the most predictable selection ever ! blatantly targetting Chelsea’s high line. chelsea players must be losing faith in this idea now, and therefore by consequence, in the manager soon if this continues. i said after chelsea’s 3rd loss of the season, that their titles hopes were hanging by a thread. now after a 4th loss in 12 lge games, it’s pretty much the nail in the coffin.
Guillem Balague made a good point about this high line stuff. not only is it causing this defensive crisis, but also hampering their star player, Torres. he wants to attack the space behind, but as the team is pushed up so far itself, there isn’t much space behind. this is is also presumably why Torres doesn’t do as well for Spain as you think he should do. don’t know if the 2008 euro’s side sat deeper as he did well then.
as ZM pointed out recently, this high line stuff is quite hard to prove thru’ stats. would be interested to know which other Prem teams play it. ? presumably the teams that play long ball sit quite deep. is there such a thing as high line, mid line & deep line ?
maybe even formation diagrams could incorporate this aspect
“it would be interesting to know if they played that way because Drogba was in the side, or if Drogba was in the side because Villas-Boas wanted to play that way. Either way, it didn’t work.”
While watching, I thought it was because Liverpool’s front four were closing down on Terry and Luiz so ferociously, they rarely had time to pick out a pass. They were either slow to get the ball out of defence (passing to each other) or resorted to lumping it over the Liverpool midfield, which was pressing and winning back possession.
Your thoughts?
Liverpool – Looked the complete opposite to Chelsea in defense, very solid. Agger and Skrtel are a very good partnership, and both played well, with skrtel competing well with drogba in the air, and Agger covering his team mate and making good passes forward. Enrique didnt have much work to do with mata outwide, and got forward well to good effect at times. But failed when up against Sturridge, failing to track his runs. Johnson was similar, not much to do untill chelsea started seeing more of the ball, then malouda got the better of him, but he was good going forward and got the winning goal with a great effort.
In midfield, Lucas dealt with lampard well, picking him up when he ventured forward, and playing some neat simple balls to his team mates (though he could have made some surprise runs forward, as lampard isnt the best at covering runs). Adams struggled to stamp his effect on the game with ramires pressing him really well, and this meant liverpool struggled to create from deep.
However, they found lots of space further forward and found it easy to keep the ball. Bellamy was unmarked most of the time (with terry scared of leaving luiz alone with suarez, and mikel having a shocker) and found ti easy to get on the ball with time and play some good balls to his team mates, resulting in good opportunities. This was intelligent from Bellamy (finding space and creating space for his team mates) and showed what Chelsea were lacking further forward. Maxi was very dangerous with his movement and pace, making excellent runs into the penalty area (aka first goal) while he showed he could be a threat on the ball from deep as well, carrying the ball forward when adams and lucas were being pressed. Kuyt did an excellent job on cole, and made great central runs as Liverpool overloaded chelsea through the centre.
Suarez was excellent too, dominating Luiz and making sure terry couldnt move out of defense to mark bellamy. He held the ball up really well to, letting Liverpool keep the ball high up the pitch.
Daglish made a mistake in moving Maxi more central as he has little defensive skills to break up chelsea’s midfield play, while he was too deep to have any effect on liverpool attacking wise and had to get past ramires. Adams was still being pressed well, this time by Lampard and couldnt get into the game. While lucas now had to deal with mata centrally, which proved difficult and meant liverpool lost the midfield battle. Replacing bellamy with henderson helped regain the midfield battle, as Maxi moved back to the left, where he looked much better, and Henderson helped break up Chelsea’ midfield play. Suarez didnt look as comfortable on his own up front either, as he had to deal with both Luiz and Terry now Bellamy wasnt up there with him.
Overall, Liverpool were better defensively, and were fluent up front with Bellamy, suarez, Kuyt and Maxi all inter-linking with ease and opening up Chelsea. The midfield battle was fairly even, until chelsea moved Mata centrally, but liverpool brought on Henderson to help and once again equalised the midfield. Two things liverpool could have done better would have been to push there fullbacks forward more (Johnsons goal proving this a good tactic) and also letting Lucas move forward sometimes. They also need to improve there finishing!!
ZM, what’s the point of having Adam in the Liverpool side? Dalglish obviously tells him not to play too many long-diagonals, so his main skill is negated somewhat. He’s positionally suspect, pushes up too often, leaves Lucas exposed esp. on the break, and can’t really pace the game very well; can you say what his role in the side is?
This seems like the wrong game to make this comment after, as Adam created both goals, one with an excellent long diagonal, albeit the other with defensive work. He’s certainly meant to be the creative half of the double pivot, and that includes making driving runs (his dribbling is much better than I realized) along with his killer passes. He’s actually done this job quite well–he’s probably created more chances this season than anyone but Suarez. He is, however, a major defensive liability, so it’s debatable whether it’s worth it, but he’s certainly providing something.
Hi ZM, do you think Luiz would work better as an RB and Ivanovic better as a CB? It seems Luiz is excellent at bombing forward and making attacking plays, while Ivanovic is a much more solid defender. Wouldn’t this kind of switch make sense?
I don’t think there’s really any need to play Luiz as a RB in order to give him license to go forward.
At the moment, the way Chelsea seem with Luiz is to have Ivanovic and Terry staying back, and Luiz “overlaps” with his midfield through the CENTRE of the pitch. This creates additional numbers in the middle, whilst the opposition wide players are pinned back by the threat of Chelsea’s wide attacking player on the right wing (who is also the outlet ball when drogba doesn’t play). This is sensible for two main reasons:
a) Chelsea seem to lack a central midfielder who can beat players on the dribble in their 4-3-3. By allowing Luiz (a competant dribbler) to play this “dribble penetration” role against certain opposition, they gain access to this skill set, without having to play more defensively suspect players such as Bosingwa.
b) Because Luiz present a different type of attacking threat, it makes life difficult for opposing managers. Who picks up Luiz if he makes a maruading run forward? In a 4-3-3 vs 4-3-3, the midfielders mark each other, so the player playing left wing is left with the defensive responsibility. This means that if Chelsea lose the ball, the opposition is naturally lacking width at the start of a counterattack move on Chelsea’s right.
The problem with the Strategy seems to be due to personel:
a) Whilst I don’t dislike Mikel as much as most people seem to, his long passing has never been his strongest ability. Without the need to close down Mikel as an attacking outlet, the opposing AMC is free to track Luiz and leave Mikel free. I think in this game, Mikel was free because the decision was made to close down Luiz instead. Suarez closed down Luiz, Bellamy was a “free” closer. When Suarez was given more freedom, Bellamy first closed down Luiz.
b) A right winger who cuts inside (dragging his full back marker with him) does not work well with an overlapping centre back like luiz. It clogs the centre of the pitch, and takes away his outlet ball. This is what happened with Mata in the game, and because the decision was made to sacrifice the RB position as an attacking force to accomodate Luiz, Chelsea had NOBODY on the Right hand side attacking, and were thus predictable, narrow and easy to defend against. Furthermore, there was a huge gap behind Mata when Liverpool needed an outlet ball to escape Chelsea’s pressing because Ivanovic stayed back.
Vilas Boas solved these problems with his substitutions. Sturridge stayed wider (moreso than Mata) and moving Ramires to the Mikel position gave Chelsea a player with the energy to cover both DMC and the vacant space in front of Ivanovic. I think if this had been Chelsea’s starting formation they would not have struggled as much as they did. The question is whether VB is willing to change his team setup to accomodate Luiz offensively, and so far the answer seems to be no.
I think the answer is to play a “defensive shuttler” like Ramires at DMC who can cover the right midfield area, and allow space for Luiz to move forward into, rather than to play Luiz on the right (I’ve seen no evidence that he is a particularly good crosser, even though his movement off and on the ball offensively seem to both be solid).
please excuse the grammar in that last comment, posted it by mistake before I could double check language
great post.
Agreed. I noticed as well that Luiz and Ivanovic took turns to step forward/check to provide cover.
I’m surprised no-one mentioned how poorly Cole played. In the first half he was completely overrun by Suarez Bellamy and even Johnson (admittedly with little help from Malouda). His crossing as usual was poor when he did get into position (can someone explain why he is regarded as a great attacking fullback – yes he’s quick, but less final delivery than Walcott or Lennon even). (Check the passing stats for the Arsenal game – not a single pass into the box). And on Johnson’s goal, he loafed across to cover, underestimated Johnson, and was left flailing. I’d have Baines ahead of him in the England team in a heartbeat.
Cole is highly rated because, until recently, he really was very good – the only England player who was “world class” (unless perhaps Rio once was).
He was world class against Ronaldo, and has basically lived off the good job he did against him which didn’t really take into account that it was a team effort they had Mourinho at the time, and what was an amazing defensive setup. Also, how can Gerrard not be considered world class?
Because Gerrard is hugely overated that’s why. Forged his reputation on 2 matches. His football brain is pretty non-existent, and he’s far too eager to play a killer ball that seldom comes off.
Liverpool this season are good at negating everyone, no wonder they’ve conceded the least and scored the least among the top 8. I guess its to do with the fact that the entire team consists of workhorses who are good at just chasing everyone around and breaking up play.
I guess its good that they are work horses and press a lot. Because all they need is more… incision… in the final third, so I think they should buy one creative attacking midfielder in January, someone who is the center point of all our attacking moves because currently Suarez is the starting and ending point, he should remain as the ending point not the starting.
I think 2 good realistic options would be Diego from Wolfsburg, and Borja Valero from Villareal
Liverpool have actually created more chances than Spurs, Newcastle and Chelsea this season. Work horses they are not, creative they are – but they do lack clinical finishing.
Excelent point…tied with Citeh and Newcastle for least goals conceded and better than all butThe top 2 (and Arsenal) for chances…in need of a clinical finisher
I didn’t know they created the most chances. Well in that case, I think Guieseppe Rossi would be a good striker to buy in Jan. I’m not so sure if he is a realistic option though.
Dead lock… Poor Gary he put so much effort to Craig! Like Always 1of the best act goes home to soon! XFactor
@Mo
Great comment. Don’t really see Diego doing well in the Prem, but Valero would be nice. (Can you imagine if Rafa’s transfer for Silva in 2009 had been authorized by the owners?)
I have to say Adams positioning in the middle is very poor.
Also i think suarez would be more effective wide left and if you are going to move maxi into the middle it should be as the highest places one in a midfield 3
Hey ZM,
I always asked myself how much the players are able to understand this tactical battle and their role in it. I’m not joking, obviously not all the players are that bright. I wonder if you asked Balotelli to move across the field like that what would happen, would he be able to figure out which oponent to pick up when defending (because during the game you don’t have the time to explain him in detail). Seriously, what do you think?
I’m sure a lot of players don’t get it… and it’s a main reason for some talented players not to make it all the way to the top.
And it’s another proof of why it takes time to build a solid team. Even bright players need some comfort level with each other so it all becomes automatic.
AVB is a good coach, I think he showed that @Porto, picking up a squad created by Jesualdo Ferreira and taking them to the next level.
With that said, the main difference between AVB0@Porto and AVB@Chelsea is that Chelsea, in my humble opinion, don’t have a clear cut 11. They have players that don’t fit each other very well, and the whole team lacks a lot of creativity up front.
Lampard is not a world class player anymore and Malouda was always overrated… Mata is an emerging star, but his best role is as a second striker/ wide forward, a little in the molds of Pedro and Villa (despite being different players).
With Mata loving to come inside and fit various roles, it could be something to take advantage of… unfortunately, Malouda lacks the creativity and his movements don’t fit a 4-3-3 at all. He likes to start wide and come inside into the area a playmaker would be in.. he doesn’t stretch the field, nor does he provide a threat in wide areas.
Further back, it’s dubious if Terry fits the high defensive line AVB likes to set up with his teams…
I think Chelsea have some potential, with a solid defense, and a working midfield… but even those areas aren’t exactly set in stone… they could use some extra options at the wide back positions and in midfield.
Looking at the attack, they really need some flair and speed… Malouda is very rigid and a liability in the overall movement of the team. They need someone else there, if the 4-3-3 is to be kept…
Honestly though, even if they changed the system and went into a more slow-paced form of attack, with the defense sitting deeper, they would continue to struggle.
Chelsea need to revamp their squad a little and spend some money to provide ACTUAL depth.
If they don’t, AVB or anyone else don’t stand a chance.
‘Lampard is not a world class player anymore’ – Lampard has never been a world class player.
Like your comments on Malouda though.
Depends on what you mean by world class and how many players you think qualify as world class.
I dislike fat Frank as much as the next man but you can’t ignore his goal scoring record for Chelsea. He isn’t very popular, and he isn’t the most balanced or complete player but he has been an excellent player (in a system that suits him) for a number of years, and one of the main reasons for Chelsea’s success. World Class? How many players could have equaled what he has given Chelsea, let alone better it over the last 10 years (well the last 7-8 anyway).
“Depends on what you mean by world class and how many players you think qualify as world class.” The only definition that makes sense is mine: he’d be in the squad of 23 chosen to play Mars. Lampard has never satisfied that test. Very fine player for Chelsea, mind.
That’s as good a definition as any. On that criteria, baring in mind how subjective it all is he wouldn’t be in my squad either, and by definition not world class (now or ever!).
Although I retain the right to change my squad selection once I’ve seen how the Martians play.
in the early 2000s he WOULD have been in that 23 player squad. people have very short memories, but he was 2nd on the world player of the year shortlist in 2004 (or was it 2005…), so its a little harsh to say that he has NEVER been world class
Ramires needs to be cut as a started. With him and Mikel on the pitch Chelsea lack creativity and ball retention isn’t at all up to the standards you would expect from the side.
Another problem is, which we’ve seen all season, is that Ramires fairly often gets into attacking positions, the problem though is that he lacks the offensive qualities to consistently produce anything from these opportunities. We’ve seen him score some goals this season, and while he does have a knack into getting into good attacking positions he just isn’t a good enough attacking player.
Also, as evident from this game, Mata is much more comfortable playing in the middle of the pitch rather than being on the right, and as Sturridge has increasingly been playing better on the right it really is a shame he didn’t get a chance to start the game.
I think that removing Ramires from the starting line-up and instead playing Mata in the middle, with Sturridge replacing him on the right would solve a lot of the attacking problems Chelsea have.
Obviously there were also loads of defensive problems and since Liverpool were starting with both Suarez and Bellamy, two players who excel at winding up opposition, it would probably have been wiser to start with Ivanovic in the middle instead of Luiz.
I feel that Chelsea still haven’t really find an adequate replacement for Carvalho. Luiz is good, and he will get better, but Terry needs a more covering defender and since Luiz has a tendency to make forward runs this only increases Chelsea’s vulnerability against teams pushing high up.
One last thing. As mentioned by ZM, throwing in Torres at that late stage didn’t do him any favours with the team not playing to his strengths. Wouldn’t it have been better to give Lukaku a chance instead?
i think Cech is to blame for the 1st goal..
Glen Johnson at fault for Chelsea’s Goal? Anyone?
Absolutely. I think he overthinks situations sometimes – he was too concerned with an overlapping runner so lat Malouda bomb into the space in front of him. He crosses that line between compusure and complacency quite a bit actually – sometimes too willing to play it simple.
Simple case of show him outside away from goal, don’t let him inside. Highlights the technical ineptitude that is common place in English Football. Thats a lesson learned at 14 years of age. What was he doing letting Malouda go that deep unmarked for and giving him space to turn and run at you?
I’d be more inclined to look at Charlie Adam’s lack of desire to close down Malouda, not sure this was Johnson’s fault at all.
Johnson the right back should mark the left sided player in the front three that chelsea operate, Adam had to be concerned with Lampard and his late runs into the box. Bottom line, Johnson should not have allowed Malouda inside to drive at goal.
Chelsea used to be strong powerful team. Even if they pass the ball without much creativity, they are so powerful and fast that opposition could not defend well enough. Those times are gone so Chelsea start to stutter.
Liverpool become the Robin-hood team at Premier league. Liverpool are very against good team but fail to get result against poor team.
I was thinking of how Obi Mikel found space deep but failed to control the tempo, what if Luiz played there instead in the ‘Arouca/Denisov’ role where the DM would make surging runs forward through the middle, and seeing how Luiz is good at going forward, it would have also allowed the more defensively stable Ivanovic to partner Terry at CB. This, in turn, would have meant the more attacking Bosingwa could have started, and with Mata drifting in from the right into his most effective central position, he would have added dangerous width on the right with overlapping runs from fullback.
That seems like a great idea, especially considering the fact that Liverpool were playing what was generally a 4-4-2, where Bellamy was marking. If Obi Mikel, or in your scenario, David Luiz, would have contributed more to attack, then Bellamy wouldn’t have picked him up because as a striker he wouldn’t want to be dragged back to his own penalty box. However David Luiz along with some others (Vermaelen, Victor Ruiz, Javi Martinez at center back, even Pique) seem to be the birth of a new “attacking centreback”. All players with great ball playing abilities as well as defensive awareness who make dangerous surging runs through the centre. I wouldn’t mind playing any of these at defensive midfield.
Not if as the sole holding player.
Baffled that lot of people do not know the proper role of anchor midfielder (or how surging run of CB related to team offensive dynamic) despite being regular ZM readers.
I would buy the idea only if he is in double pivot.
@Anonymous
Its part of a double-pivot’s role to take in turns to attack, like Marwan said if the DM is free, instead of dictating from deep (a la Pirlo) he could play the Arouca role where he would take part of attack. In both the Santos and Shakhtar vs Zenit games, both DM’s were extremely effective.
just to say that I agree with the above two posters, but think that this is better achieved by leaving Luiz at centre back, and having a destructive holder (i.e. Ramires) willing to drift right to cover the gaps left by Ivanovic moving to the centre.
@Anonymous
I do actually know the proper role, but I’m just thinking of something different, something that could potentially revolutionize football.
http://www.zonalmarking.net/2011/11/01/eduardo-fails-to-track-igor-denisov-and-zenit-get-the-upper-hand-in-important-victory/
http://www.zonalmarking.net/2011/06/25/santos-2-1-penarol-tactics/
Theres only one question: if as a defensive midfielder no one’s tracking you, why not take advantage of that?
Not really talking about you here…
Anyway, as a free player who is a HOLDING midfielder, stay in your position and spread play, let the other player move to space, give you passing option, pick the best one, release the ball. simple.
Now since we are talking about such position, … in my opinion Mikel in his top form, is a very good player. Look no further than Barca match of 09. The problem is he can be too cautious and his diagonal ball is inaccurate at time. Nothing is bad about being cautious but that
will affect the tempo. Sometimes you can see Lampard drop deep to pick the ball from him to help spread the play (which should be Mikel’s job really) – indeed I think Lampard’s diagonal is superior to Mikel.
Listen i have no idea why AVB plays a 4-1-2-3….he plays the EXACT same way he did with Porto and Chelsea are a completely different team. If he insists on playing Torres then he HAS to play a CF behind him to hold up play and play the long thru balls to exploit his pace playing with no one in the hole behind him is pointless and negates his only real talents. Why not move Mata to a CF position he is far more effective than on the left wing or why not actually start Sturridge since IMO he is better than Torres, at least right now. It makes me sad because Chelsea went from being a top tier team to hardly cohesive. They are no longer in that echelon of teams that “have their shit together” and I get nervous no matter what club we play. It’s a shame Roman wasted so much money on Torres and time on AVB and both are going to prove to be major busts.
The biggest problem with Chelsea is their offensive creativity. Lampard is no longer that CF that can play in the hole and make tireless runs because he is wayy to old now. Ramires is effective but he lacks on the ball creativity and Mata is wasted off the left. We need a CF that can play behind our ST and hold up play and allow people like Mata and Ramires to make runs. Either Ramires needs to be moved into a more offensive position, maybe RW? or needs to no be starting because the way he is deployed now we basically have to CDM’s with him and Mikel. Move Mata into a CF position behind Torres/Sturridge, play Ramires as a RM, Mikel and Lampard in the center with Meireles on the Left. AVB is a good coach but he is playing the wrong system with the wrong starting eleven. IMO we need to be playing a 4-4-1-1 or a 4-4-2 diamond. What is wrong with a Mikel-Ramires-Miereles-Lampard diamond? Mata and Sturrdige up front why not try that?
I’m not entirely sure how to reply when discussing Chelsea as a “team that has their shit together”. Do you mean playing as a cohesive unit? Playing well? On is this a question of form?
Also, your criticism of players is actually pretty incorrect.
At chelsea, many teams already play a deep line. This means that playing a CF to play through balls for Torres will not work because there will be no space to play the through ball into. It could work on the counter-attack, but VB is building a team that is designed to dominate possession, and thus Torres is best suited in a system where his lateral movement is exploited.
Mata has shown consistently in his career that he is very effecive on the wing cutting in, as he has very good movement off the ball, and great technical ability, at the same time he isn’t as physical as many central players. To play him in the middle risks compromising these aspects of his game (less space, more physical defenders).
You say that Ramires lacks creativity, but want to move him to a more offensive position? (Unless you mean as a defensive winger, but your complaint isn’t about defence, its about the misuse of Torres and Mata…. and lack of offensive creativity)
As for proposed solutions. Chelsea would struggle very much with a 4-4-2 Diamond because they lack a high quality attacking Right Back. This means that the team would be both lop sided and narrow.
In a 4-4-1-1, the lack of a holder in central midfield would expose what is a slow central defence.
I think that you heavily underate Boas as a manager….
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Remember Luis’s first month in English football, everyone, journalists and ex players were raving about his ability as a centre back, what do they know. His place should be as a holding midfielder, replacing Mikel who’s time is surely up. Alex should be playing at centre back. Ramires has to be in the starting eleven. He was replaced against both Arsenal and Liverpool when the scores were level,coincidence? 4-3-3 is fine as long as Mata is given licence to roam. Torres has to be given a run of games as the lone forward. Against the top teams I would go 4-2-3-1.We looked okay in the second half Sunday with Lampard and Ramires holding, Mata was more effective given a central role. Anelka deserves a
wide position in this formation as Malouda is in one of his woeful runs and Kalou isn’t good enough.I was critical of Ancelootti’s tactics quite often ,but he gained two 2-0 wins against Arsenal at home by defending deep and conceding possession.This manager has a big job on to gradually change personnel and patience should be shown.
Nah, that would leave Bellamy free on a counter and essentially 2 vs 2 at the back with I-lack-pace-so-let-me-pretend-to-fall-down Terry being one of the 2 defenders. Suicidal!
That was for Ibra and his suggestion of moving Luiz as single pivot in place of Mikel.
Good point, but if Luiz was more thoughtful on when to make the runs, as well as if Ivanovic would tuck inside to form a 3-man defence, that would retain Chelsea’s 1-man advantage, as well as the opportunity for one of those CB’s to move up if Bellamy decided to drop deep. In the last match, the only person who could have taken advantage of that would have been Maxi, and seeing as he mainly cut inside plus his weaker foot is left, then he wouldn’t have been much of a threat. Also, Enrique couldn’t have taken advantage of that either because Mata would’ve kept him busy.