Chelsea Match Review I Chelsea vs Tottenham I Premier League I 28/2/2019 I 2-0

Chelsea Match Review
Chelsea vs Tottenham I Premier League I 28/2/2019
Fulltime Score: 2-0

Match Overview

A few talking points were playing out on the back of this crucial North London derby. First, the controversy with first choice keeper, Kepa, who had famously refused to be substituted in the Carabao Cup Final against Manchester City. And second, how will Chelsea respond on the back of recent disappointments in their results?

Ultimately, Chelsea responded well and continued their playing form against Spurs. Their defeat in the Cup Final was a dignified one, having had probably the best of chances to win the match and having played well, hence Chelsea brought with them a certain swagger into this match. Sure, Spurs are a top 6 side but they are no Manchester City, hence Chelsea had an easier time playing against.

The team came off the blocks with some scintillating football and were the dominant side in the opening 30 minutes. The first half, however, ended 0-0 with Higuain hitting the crossbar with an awkward but accurate shot and Harry Winks similarly doing that from distance.

First Half              CHE 0-0 TOT

In the second half, Chelsea continued their pressure although some of the earlier half sharpness has dulled. Nevertheless, Pedro eventually got the goal. The goal started with Chelsea’s captain Azpilicueta dribbling with the ball and beating his marker. The simple pass fed Pedro who ran towards goal and shot quickly through the legs of Hugo Lloris.

Pedro 57’             CHE 1-0 TOT

The second goal however, came from a farcical mistake from Kieran Trippier and Lloris as they misunderstood each other’s intention. Upon detecting pressure from Willian, Trippier attempted to pass the ball to Lloris. Unfortunately, Lloris had come off his line to collect the ball. The ball rolled into an empty net.

Trippier OG         CHE 2-0 TOT

After the goal, it was a matter of playing down the minutes with the team defending well and chances far between.

Fulltime                CHE 2-0 TOT

Match Highlight

Sarri employed his favoured 4-3-3 formation. As widely speculated, Kepa lost his place in the lineup as a show of his authority in the squad with Caballero coming in to fill his boots. Kovacic starts the match in place of Barkley and Pedro started the match instead of Willian. Alonso got the nod ahead of Emerson who had done well in past matches. Other than that, the rest of the squad are in Sarri’s first choice squad.

Unlike Sarri’s trademark all-out possession dogma, he seems to be favouring defensive solidity rather than simply ball possession. Since the 6-0 drubbing, Chelsea have not pushed as aggressively in the opponents half as before which usually opens themselves to the quick counterattack. Instead, they stayed in their half and soak in the pressure somewhere in the halfway line.

The match incredibly, had very little shots, only one on target by Pedro with Tottenham failing to register a single shot on target.

Man Of The Match

Chelsea’s Man Of The Match has to go to Pedro.

For a person seemingly on the deproving side of his football career, he showed his fans exactly why he had been an asset and a former Barcelona man all these years. Other than his goal, he linked well throughout the match with the attackers but also helped tremendously in defence such that one might be forgiven to think that he is a natural defender. In this match, he showed his dribbling skills, shooting boots and god tackling reminiscent of Pedro of two seasons ago.  

Player Ratings

-          Goalkeeper

Willy Caballero, 6

Really had nothing to do all match as he did not have to muster a single save. He was beaten by the trajectory of Harry Winks shot in the first half though he was saved by the bar. He was composed though with dealing with crosses and half-attempts at a goal.

-          Defenders

Cesar Azpilicueta, 7

Solid performance defensively and attacking-wise. He created Pedro’s goal, but was also tremendous in maintaining Chelsea’s solidity at the back.

David Luiz, 8

Incredible performance the past two matches. Luiz was everywhere in the defence, heading balls clear, tackling at the right time and being no-nonsense with the way he deals with dangerous situations.

Antonio Rudiger, 7

Good at applying pressure where required. Maybe not as great at winning the ball as his fellow CB, but they make a good pairing.

Marcos Alonso, 8

What a rebound in performance. I have always been a critic of Alonso since he came, but this performance showcase something he might actually be good at, defending. He won many balls and is speed was not exposed in this match. It could be due to the overall team’s performance and tactical plan.

-          Midfielders

Jorginho, 6.5

As usual, his contributions to the match is often quiet but he is an essential part of the team. He is the man in the middle who ensures the team is able to play effectively. He lost a couple of balls but he did recover some too. Overall, good performance

N’golo Kante, 8

This guy has grown from strength to strength over the years. His dribbling and passing skills has improved significantly, making him almost the complete midfielder.

Mateo Kovacic, 7

Great composed performance at the Bridge, especially in the opening 30 mins. His dribbling skills and ability to control the ball in tight spaces is a valuable asset in retaining possession and launching attacks.

-          Forwards

Pedro Rodriguez, 9

Attack wise, brilliant. Defence wise, also brilliant.

Gonzalo Higuain, 7

Relatively quiet match although he looked like almost scoring in the opening minutes of the match. He seems to be building a chemistry with his surrounding players, giving them instructions and being part of their intricate play.

Eden Hazard, 8

The guy’s an asset to the team and utterly undroppable. Chelsea without Hazard will lose much of its essence, really.

-          Substitutes

Willian, 8

Came on with energy. Caused Trippier to panic and score that own goal.

Loftus-Cheek, 8

Little to show, but I am surprised he is not starting matches, especially as he shows signs of footballing brilliance.

Giroud, NA

Played too little to judge.

Chelsea Match Review I Chelsea vs Manchester City I Premier League I 11/2/2019

Chelsea Match Review

Chelsea 0 - 6 Manchester City I Premier League I 11/2/2019

Match Overview

On the back of a 5-0 thumping of bottom-of-the-table Huddersfield, Chelsea entered this match on a positive note with talks of a growing partnership between Hazard and Higuan and the team finding the motivation to win and kill matches.

But in the space of 25 mins, all of this came crashing down when Gundogan nets City’s fourth goal of the match in the first half. It did not, however, started off badly. Chelsea started the game with energy and vigour. There were sharp and incisive movements and the players came off the blocks trying to find for a goal. But, within 4 minutes, after a flurry of chances in the opening minutes from both sides, Raheem Sterling scored the goal.

Raheem Sterling 4’           MC 1 - 0 CHE

A large reason for the loss is in the style of play employed by Chelsea. Chelsea played with their now distinctive slow build up play which was easily exploited by Manchester City and before long, they have lost the plot in an embarrassing 6-0 loss. Aguero’s first goal was sumptuous. Right after a howler where he mis anticipated a brilliant cross across goal only to kick the ball wide off an empty net, he scored a rocket from outside the box past Kepa’s outstretched hand.

Aguero 13’                          MC 2 – 0 CHE

Aguero’s second goal was the result of a really sloppy play from Barkley. Barkley attempted to head back to Kepa for a goal kick but was not aware that Aguero was still lurking behind the Chelsea’s defence. Being a Chelsea header, he was not offside and thus easily scored his second goal of this match.

Aguero 19’                          MC 3 – 0 CHE

By now, it was certain that there are fundamental flaws in Chelsea’s gameplay. Gundagon found himself some space just outside the box and thus, as with the quality of Man City players, aimed a lethal accurate shot beyond Kepa’s reach to make it an embarrassing 4-0.

Gundagon 25’                    MC 4 – 0 CHE

When things seems like it could not get worse, Azpilicueta tripped and conceded a foul in the penalty box. To be honest, Chelsea were closing the gaps better in the second half, thus it felt like the match may just end 4 – 0, which was bad enough. Unfortunately, the penalty came and Aguero wrong-footed Kepa to make it 5 – 0 and a hattrick for the night.

Aguero 58’                          MC 5 – 0 CHE

The last goal from Man City was not as spectacular as some of their previous. Somehow, Sterling found space and thus duly shot and scored from close range.

Sterling 80’                          MC 6 – 0 CHE

Match Highlight

Chelsea opted for Sarri’s favoured 4-3-3. With the addition of Higuan, Hazard could once again return to his favoured left winger position. Other than the usual Kovacic-Barkley and Pedro-Willian selection dilemma, Chelsea started with their regular first team squad. Only Hudson-Odoi and Cahill were announced to have had some slight injuries although Cahill has, for some time, not featured in Sarri’s Chelsea side. Hence, the disastrous performance is all the more shocking as this is the reflection of Chelsea’s best available side.

The first half was characterised by a ruthless clinical display from Manchester City. Manchester City dominated the possession with their usual passing and excellent pressing which forces Chelsea to give in possession rather cheaply, particularly due to the slow build up nature of Chelsea’s game which has come under many criticism. Sarri has a right to say that the players were not playing his favoured style of play. To be honest, Sarri’s Napoli were good and dominant precisely because of their fast passing and organisation of the players. It is not their dominance or ability to retain possession that won them games or admirers. Guardiola himself said that then-Napoli’s style of play was even able to confound his Manchester City’s ultra-organised style of play. This style of quick passing was not able to be replicated by the current Chelsea squad. Instead, while some of the ‘symptoms’ of Sarriball is in place, the objective was not met and what ensured was a slow passing, uncreative team easily exploited by an organised opponent.

Man Of The Match

Gonzalo Higuan was in a weird point of view, Chelsea’s Man-of-the-Match. It can be seen quite clearly now the quality of this striker. He is no dribbler or passer like Morata, but he is what Chelsea has been lacking, a brilliant shot-taker. His shots are powerful and curling. If just given the right space, he will unleash an almost unstoppable shot only few keepers can stop. Unfortunately, one of that keeper is Ederson who made such a brilliant save which would have saved Chelsea’s blushes.

Unfortunately, despite Higuan’s rather tepid and average performance, the other players were just too woeful to be considered to be the Man-of-the-Match.

Player Ratings

-          Goalkeeper

Kepa Arizabalaga, 6

In all the goals, except for the penalty, he could not have done any better. He was on full stretch for all the goals and reacted brilliantly. Unfortunately, the shots were too brilliant for him.

-          Defenders

Marcos Alonso, 2

Awful display again. I have been talking about the overratedness of Alonso since he signed for Chelsea and a need for a better leftback. Only now are Chelsea faithfuls fully realising the liability he poses to our defence. Unfortunately, I also doubt Emerson’s ability to fill this role. This is a position Sarri needs to strengthen to keep his team forward.

Antonio Rudiger, 3

It is funny when you cannot find a fault in his play yet the team concedes 6 goals. Unfortunately, Rudiger just does not possess that steel or physicality like Arsenal’s Kolasinac, whom I highly rated.

David Luiz, 3

Similarly, he does not seem to have a fault in his play yet the team still concedes 6 goals. It could be perhaps not be his individual fault but the style of play Chelsea are currently playing which exposes such lapses in defence.

Cesar Azpilicueta, 2

He has been quite absent in his play for some time. Not much presence in defence nor attack.

(Sub) Emerson

Finally took off the awful Alonso but he did not contribute much to the team to be honest.

-          Midfielders

Barkley, 1

Really terrible game he is having. To be fair, with the dominance of Manchester City, Barkley’s strengths are just not accentuated. Unfortunately, I really believe that Barkley is a huge reason for Sarriball not being able to come off as he is just too slow with the ball and his passing and ball control is just not good enough for such quick passing tactics.

Jorginho, 2

He is playing in a team vastly different from what he is supposedly supposed to be playing like. His previous Napoli team could work off in tandem with nicely synchronised passes that confound opponents but this team rarely could string a couple of passes nicely together. Chelsea team has good dribblers and individuals, not team players.

Kante, 5

He was to be honest, quite good, and probably the only player able to disrupt some momentum in Manchester City’s tactical juggernaut. Incredible player.

(Sub) Kovacic, 4

Why did he not start this match? Chelsea needed that just little more ball retention and he could have provided for them. Instead, Sarri opted for his long range shooter, Barkley, hoping to score that rare wonder goals.

-          Forwards

Eden Hazard, 5

He is truly a world class player. His dribbling in the first half at times almost beat the entire Manchester City defence. Unfortunately, he cannot just do everything by himself. I actually have the suspicion that he is just not made out for Sarriball due to the nature of his style of play. In some of Sarri’s earlier games where Hazard was still recovering from his World Cup exertions, Chelsea actually played a brilliant quick passing game between Ppedro, Willian and Morata.

Higuan, 5

Excellent shooter. No chances. Wasteful night let down by entire team.

Pedro, 3

Pedro seems way past his prime now. Dribbling still good. Yet, he is no longer that player beater that he was. He was not able to cut in nicely nor outrun most of the opponents defenders…

(Sub) Loftus-Cheek, 3

Actually, made more of an impact than Pedro. Unfortunately, still did not find the missing piece of puzzle to unlock Manchester City or salvage a respectful goal even.