Winning by a five goal margin for the first time against today’s opponent West Ham, evidence of a true resurgence is finally becoming “believable” for all in Chelsea’s blue.
A five star performance right in front of the home crowd accompanied with a clean-sheet and the return of key injured players like Malo Gusto and Christopher Nkunku made for a perfect afternoon for all at Stamford Bridge.
Major talking point :
One question that has many pondering upon remains; “What has changed?” What really changed? The players? The coach? Or is this all just a fluke?
Now, not much changed in terms of quantity (the players are the same) but the quality of the team’s structure and the coaches tactics have definitely changed.
Back in pre-season, Mauricio Pochettino started out with the 3-2-5 formation in possession which saw one of the full backs invert into the midfield while the other full back tucks into the defence to form a rest defence of 3-2.
The 3-2 rest defence structure meant the blues had enough players behind the ball in transition and could readily counter press whenever possession was lost up the pitch or in the midfield.
This structure saw Chelsea recover the ball faster while also restricting opponents to very limited chances to transition against the Blues.
The 3-2-5 formation also meant all lanes in attack were occupied and Chelsea could stretch the opponent’s backline and overload teams who defend with a back 4.
Despite the success the 3-2-5 formation delivered in pre-season, Pochettino deviated after injury to key players (Carney and Nkunku) and switched to a less-structured system.
This has resulted in loads of open games and the concession of way too many goals.
Now the question, were the injuries the reason for the change? If they were, were they worthy excuses?
I certainly think the injuries were a huge factor as to why Poch decided to deviate from the 3-2-5 in-possession system as the players most suited to that style struggled for fitness (Carney and Nkunku) all season-long, leaving the CAM and LAM position barely occupied.
However, some have argued that Mauricio Pochettino could have improvised with the players available to him.
It is pertinent to mention that the recent resurgence and upturn in form is not all down to the change of formation and tactics but also due to the massive leap in improvements from some of the players.
Pochettino and his coaching staff have had their work cut out after being served with a group of barely seasoned-professional players (Noni, Mudryk and Jackson).
The coaches can be proud of their work on the likes of Noni, Mudryk, and Jackson.
Noni has taken huge leaps in his defensive work and understanding of how and when to make runs. Mudryk has also improved albeit at a lesser pace compared to Jackson and Noni.
Conclusion :
Recent showings have improved the mood around the club and in the midst of the fans but the job isn’t done yet as there remains a last push for a European spot.
