Leicester 1-3 Chelsea : Three at the back offers winning formula in times of pressure

Coming into a high-pressure period after the distasteful loss to Tottenham Hotspur, Graham Potter has delivered three wins on the bounce against Leeds, Borussia Dortmund and now Leicester City.

Here is what we can take from today’s match :

Key players still have the ability to rise to the occasion, even in difficult times :

A squad as richly assembled as Chelsea’s, it is always expected that the very best players rise to the occasion when needed, and that was evident today with the show of class from Enzo, Kova, Kai and Fofana, just to mention a few.

Enzo and Kova marshalled the midfield and showed immense quality, with both running the show against Leicester City. Enzo, with a beautiful assist, and Kovaciç, with a brilliant goal displayed how much influence the two had on the game.

Enzo’s dominance on the game was evident as he recorded a pass accuracy of 88%, created one big chance and made an incredible assist for the second goal. Kovaciç, on his path to victory, bossed the midfield as he recorded 87 touches, completed 2/3 dribbles, and scored a worldie for Chelsea’s third.

Wesley Fofana and Kai Havertz are also honourable mentions as both showed immense quality in the match.

The off-ball structure remains a concern :

Starting with a 3-4-2-1 system, Potter decided to go with a mid/low block out of possession, thereby giving freedom to Leicester to have the ball in the midfield and dictate proceedings before pulling level.

Potter’s choice to often have the defensive line drop deeper than usual has seen teams possess the ball and pin the blues for periods during gameplay. Considering Chelsea were one of the best pressing teams under Thomas Tuchel in the same formation, it is somewhat worrisome that Potter has gone with a difference of tactics; teams are now confident of having possession and gaining territory against Chelsea.

The deep defensive line deployed by Potter has also seen teams try to find little pockets around the 18-yard box of Chelsea while trying to strike on goal from a distance. Despite this defunct, Chelsea still remains a solid defensive unit with only one goal conceded in the three recent matches played.

Giving Kai Havertz freedom to drift wide is paying dividends :

A player may attest to being “special”, it has been rather frustrating watching Kai struggle with consistency in the “false 9” role.

Since arriving, Potter, like Tuchel before him, also took to deploying Kai centrally, either as the false nine or just behind the striker (against Salzburg). Changing from the usual way, Potter has taken to deploying Kai in the half spaces with Sterling (against Dortmund) and now Mudryk against Leicester leading the line in his stead.

That switch in tactics has seen Kai play his two best games this season, with two goals in two matches for the German sensation.

His work-rate has never been in doubt, as evident in winning 2/3 of his three tackles and boasting of 6 recoveries. Kai’s influence in the attack has also seen massive improvements as he created one big chance, had five shots, and one brilliant goal to register two goals in his last two outings.

Man Of The Match; Kovaciç 9/10.

Next up for Chelsea is a home game against Everton at the Bridge next weekend, which will then be followed by an international break.