With Leeds fighting for survival and Chelsea’s patchy form of late, there couldn’t have been a better place to be than at a rocky Elland road, the home stadium of Leeds.
The home side came into the match with the hope of feeding off their fans’ positive energy and non ending support to do something they had never done this season, (To win against a top five side).
Their quest of winning their first league game of this season against a side in the five suffered a huge blow just inside the opening 5 minutes after Mount found the top corner from the edge of the box before Leeds suffered a successive sending off after a terrible challenge by Daniel James on Mateo Kovaciç.
The red card meant the side from Yorkshire drew back into their defensive shape and Chelsea took total control from there henceforth. The second half saw plethora of chances come the way of the blues and bar wasteful finishing and indecision, the margin of victory could have been wider.
The game ends, Leeds United 0-3 Chelsea.
Here are lessons learned as Chelsea get back to wining ways ahead of the cup final :
Blues profit from fast start:
With the raucous crowd present at Elland road, Tuchel couldn’t have wished for a better start for his team than the one they had. The blues started with intent after the Wolves collapse and ensured to silence the crowd early on with Mount’s goal.
The goal helped with the plan of controlling the game and with Leeds desperate for an equalizer, the team ensured to keep the ball and thereby gaining control of the game. If Chelsea are to stand any chance of wining the FA cup at the weekend, such a start here would do the team so much favor.
Jorgi’s Coordination:
Tuchel’s decision to rest Thiago Silva ahead of the weekend’s FA cup final, meant he needed a calm head in the defensive department to ensure a repeat of the previous game’s disaster was avoided. Jorginho provided the calming presence just before the back three and his organization of the team’s play right from back to front meant his team kept a clean sheet since the game against West Ham. The Italian international was often seen screaming and directing his teammates on and off the ball with respect to their positioning and led the press on occasions to set the tempo for a dominant performance. With the injury suffered by Kovaciç, Jorginho’s organization would be needed to keep a rampaging Liverpool at bay.
Front three Clicks:
The front three Tuchel decided to go with here at Elland road; (Pulisic, Mount, Lukaku) all got on the scoresheet and it’s been a while since the attacking line pop up this good. The physicality of Lukaku was very well utilized up top and the brilliant movement of Mount and Pulisic just behind him meant he could hold the ball up and feed the runners behind him. The link up play amongst them three was also a big difference as it ensured the team created more chances than usual with only poor finishing ensuring the margin wasn’t much more than it turned out.
With Werner and Kai struggling for form, it would be a huge shock if Tuchel changes his front line come Saturday.
Alonso’s Sloppiness:
After many reports of a bust-up with Tuchel during the Wolves game, it was a surprise to see Alonso start against Leeds United.
The Spaniard represented the weak point in a rather strong team performance and gave the ball away on numerous occasions often infuriating Thomas Tuchel down the touch-line.
Alonso was guilty of either delaying a cross or delivering poor crosses into the box and with Lukaku in the side, he’s got a target to aim for.
Salah and Arnold being his most possible opponent come the weekend, Alonso would have to sharpen up and get back to form and pace with quality deliveries expected to stand a chance of breaching the reds’ stubborn defence.
Trevor thrives:
With fans calling for his steady inclusion, Tuchel headed to those calls and handed Chalobah his first league start since the game against Newcastle United. The Cobham graduate suffered a blip in form and struggled to replicate his early season brilliance with some shaky performances leading to his dropping from the team.
Here against Leeds, Chalobah returned to his usual best and dominated the right hand side of the defence. His ability to move with the ball was also crucial in overloading the right hand side when Chelsea attacked down that side, often pushing up to assist James down the right.
With Luis Diaz most likely to be his opponent this Saturday, Tuchel has a huge dilemma to solve down the right of his back three.
Next up for Chelsea is the big game against Liverpool at Wembley, the FA cup final on Saturday. Man of the match for today is Mason Mount 9/10!
