Chelsea FC : Defensive Concerns Despite Perfect Start

By Guest Author
10 years Ago

Jose Mourinho could not have hoped for a better start to his second season in charge of Chelsea. The Blues sit pretty at the top of the table having picked up maximum points from their opening four Premier League fixtures. Wins against Burnley, Leicester City, Everton and Swansea have seen Chelsea score an incredible fifteen goals with new signing Diego Costa notching an unprecedented seven goals in his first four games ai??i?? including a hat-trick against the hitherto unbeaten Swansea City. His Spanish national team-mate and fellow new arrival Cesc Fabregas has his own little record to celebrate ai??i?? the former Arsenal man became the first player in Premier League history to grab an assist in six consecutive league games following his two assists against Swansea. As such, much of the adulation of the fans and the British media has rightly been directed towards the duo. A lot has been made of Chelseaai??i??s attacking prowess and how it has been enhanced by the arrival of Costa and Fabregas. Somewhat concerning though, is the fact that Chelsea have let in six goals in four games and five in their last two.

Thibaut Courtoisai??i?? return to Chelsea from a very successful loan spell at Atletico Madrid meant that Jose Mourinho had an extremely important decision to make regarding his first-choice keeper. Given the high profiles of Courtois and the legendary Petr Cech, and the fact that the latter was linked to moves away from the club, it was this dilemma that made the back-page headlines week after week leading up to the start of the season. However, the arrival of Courtoisai??i?? Atletico team-mate, left-back Filipe Luis, meant that the Portuguese manager had another big decision to make with respect to his defensive set-up. Mourinho gave Courtois the nod ahead of Cech, whilst opting for the same back four that played the majority of last season – Branislav Ivanovic, Gary Cahill, John Terry and Cezar Azpilicueta. On paper, arguably the best defence in the league. Surprisingly therefore, it has shown itself to be vulnerable on numerous occasions in the opening fixtures, and is somewhat of a concern going into Chelseaai??i??s first ai???top-fourai??i?? encounter against Manchester City at the Etihad on Sunday.

Jose Mourinhoai??i??s philosophy has always been to attack and defend as a unit. Consequently, no player in the side is spared his defensive duties. As such, it is necessary to analyse Chelseaai??i??s defensive short-comings collectively, as a unit, rather than individually. Perhaps more so given the fact that, John Terry own-goal notwithstanding, none of the goals conceded have resulted directly from individual mistakes. Indeed, even the blame for the unfortunate own goal by the Bluesai??i?? skipper against Swansea cannot be pinned solely on him. An obvious commonality between Everton and Swansea ai??i?? the two teams that have caused Chelsea the most trouble ai??i?? is their style of football: quick, clever passing and movement and counter-attacking with pace through their respective wide men. For large parts of both games, Chelsea failed to deal with the opposition, a disjointed midfield being the main culprit.

Closing down teams like Swansea and Everton quickly is of paramount importance, given the technical ability and pace that they possess. Particularly against Swansea in the first half, Chelsea failed to press the opposition, allowing them plenty of time and space to pick their passes. Mourinho alluded to this fact in a post-match interview, saying, ai???Ki, Shelvey and Sigurdsson always had time and space on the ball. If you have time and space, even bad players will do wellai???. As a consequence of a lack of cohesion within Chelseaai??i??s midfield when pressing the opposition, their attempts to press the ball higher up the pitch have occasionally left them vulnerable at the back.

For all the class that a midfield double pivot of Matic and Fabregas provides on the ball, there is a worrying lack of pace between the two. When Chelsea have failed to close down their opposition from the front, the lack of pace is even more apparent. A high press necessarily means that the defensive line has to move up to reduce the gap between defence and midfield where opposition play-makers can find a lot of joy. On numerous occasions in the opening few games this season, Maticai??i??s eagerness to close down his man combined with the failure of the rest of the midfield to do the same has resulted in the opposition being able to play their way around the press and get beyond the Chelsea midfield, leaving the defence exposed. In addition, given Maticai??i??s lack of pace and Fabregasai??i?? attacking instincts, if Mourinho opts for a Matic-Fabregas pivot, there is no cover for Matic if he gets turned by an opposition player, leaving the defence vulnerable.

Whilst Ramires is not the most technically gifted footballer, his pace and work-rate off the ball are crucial to the Bluesai??i?? midfield when playing against better opposition ai??i?? evidenced by the fact that Mourinho started him against Everton and brought him on at half time to change the game against Swansea. The Brazilianai??i??s dogged determination when closing down opposition and ability to cover for Matic makes him a vital presence against sides that are on par with Chelsea technically. However, despite Ramiresai??i?? ability to buttress the midfield and thus the team with his presence, it is evident from the game against Everton that failure to press the opposition as a cohesive unit can be punished by the top sides in the league.

Indeed, Diego Costa could be seen furiously remonstrating with his team-mates as the half-time whistle blew at Goodison Park for failing to properly do their defensive duties. At least two of the goals Chelsea have conceded ai??i?? Naismithai??i??s strike and the Terry own goal ai??i?? have arguably been as a result of the Bluesai??i?? lack of resistance in midfield. In those instances, Mirallas and Ki have been able to waltz through the Chelsea midfield and pick out their team-mates at leisure, taking advantage of the poor defensive contribution by the Bluesai??i?? midfielders and some questionable positioning by in-form right-back Branislav Ivanovic.

A few eyebrows were raised when Mourinho opted to stick with the back four that had served him so well last season. Filipe Luis was, after all, one of the best left-backs in Europe in a title-winning Atletico Madrid side, and as such, was expected to slot straight into the Chelsea starting XI. Branislav Ivanovic, however, has been in sensational form so far this season, providing two assists and scoring twice in the opening four games. He has been amongst Chelseaai??i??s top players thus far this campaign. In addition, his physical presence during set-pieces, his ability in the air and his leadership on the field has made him nearly impossible to drop. However, defensively, the Serbian international captain has been a little suspect. His positioning for the Naismith goal as well as the Terry own goal, for instance, have been less than ideal. On both occasions, he was guilty of moving too far in-field, and reacting late to the runner coming in from the left. Indeed, Burnley and Leicester too have found plenty of joy down his flank. This could be in part due to the fact that Ivanovic has been positioned higher up the pitch ai??i?? both to provide width to Chelseaai??i??s attack, and as a target for Courtoisai??i?? goal kicks to try and initiate attacks. Whilst this has evidently paid dividends for the Blues, there is also a risk due to the amount of space Ivanovic leaves behind him. Playing a right winger that does not contribute enough defensively could serve to exacerbate this problem. It is unlikely that Mourinho will drop Ivanovic any time soon. However, if the concession of goals persists at the current rate, it might well be something for the Portuguese boss to ponder.

Cezar Azpilicueta, meanwhile, has had a quieter start than his counterpart at right-back, but has been extremely solid nevertheless. Whilst his attacking instincts might be hampered by the fact that he is playing on the left flank, he has been as solid as ever defensively. The Spaniard is extremely good in one-on-one situations, and has a brilliant sense of positioning. He is more than capable of contributing in attack when played in his natural position at right-back, but struggles to offer much going forward from the left. This is where Filipe Luis could make a real difference. The Brazilian international is superb defensively, and offers more than Azpilicueta in the final third. He has extremely quick feet and has the ability to play in tight spaces, making him an ideal partner to Eden Hazard on that left flank. Perhaps it is physically where he lags behind Ivanovic and Azpilicueta and it could well be for this reason that the Bluesai??i?? boss has chosen to ease him in rather than throw him straight into the first team. With the Champions League kicking off this week however, we could well see Filipe Luis making his first start, and possibly like Azpilicueta last season, holding down his position at left-back by impressing the manager with his performances.

Even though Chelsea have conceded goals at an unusual rate, it is a little early to be unduly concerned about the state of the defence. Indeed, games like the one against Everton are one-offs, and some of the goals Chelsea have conceded in the opening games can be put down to a simple lack of focus during those moments. Kevin Mirallas, for instance, running across Cahill and winning a header, or the failure of the defence to track Shelveyai??i??s run in the dying minutes of the game against Swansea, or even Oscarai??i??s slip in the build up to Scott Arfieldai??i??s goal in the opening game of the season. Mourinho revealed after the game against Swansea that they had analysed the goals against Everton and will do the same for the Swansea game. If any manager can fix problems with a defence though, it is Jose Mourinho. With games against Manchester City, an in-form Aston Villa and Arsenal in the offing, it is imperative that Chelsea shore up their defence sooner rather than later. Big tests await.

~ written by Guest Author Malhar Bhadbhade

Categories: Chelsea FC, English Premier League, Features
Tags: Chelsea FC Defence Mourinho

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