Chelsea might have made a perfect start under Maurizio Sarri as they have registered full points in the three games, but we believe that the Blues are going to struggle against teams who would take the game to them. They opened their season against Huddersfield Town who provided little to nothing while going forward and the real test came up against Arsenal.
The Blues might have secured a thrilling 3-2 win, but it was far from a convincing performance. Chelsea had allowed Arsenal back into the game after taking the two-goal lead, and if not for poor finishing from the Gunners, they could have easily lost the game. Blowing away a two-goal lead was very unlike the Blues, but one can expect something like this for some time under the new manager.
When Sarri started at Empoli and Napoli, he had the same problems as when the opposition was able to beat the initial press; the team leaves themselves vulnerable at the back. The Blues are also going through a change at the back concerning formation as under Antonio Conte, they played with three at the back, and with wingbacks tracking back, it often became five at the back when they didn’t have possession. Sarri has deployed the system of the more orthodox four-man in defence.
So far he has used the centre back pairing of Antonio Rudiger and David Luiz. Rudiger is still inexperienced, but at the moment, one has to say he is the best bet they have. David Luiz provided a perfect example in showcasing why he isn’t a top class defender last weekend, as he allowed Joselu to come across him and score a header which brought Newcastle United in the game for a short while. The Brazilian is good while playing out from the back and at spreading the ball but he is often defensively caught out.
As backup options, Sarri has Andreas Christensen and Gary Cahill at his disposal. Cahill seems past his prime, but the Chelsea manager has assured that his time would soon come to prove himself. Andreas Christensen showed impressive signs last season but again he is still a work in progress and given the manager’s philosophy, he would rather have a much better ball playing defender at his disposal.
Another reason why they will struggle at the back is that Sarri is allowing Ngolo Kante to be the box to box player. It seems evident that the manager is trying to use his abundance of energy, but when Kante sits back, he would be able to keep it much tighter at the back. Now we often see Jorginho falling deep to receive the ball as he plays in a deep-lying playmaker’s role. This strategy would work against teams where the Blues would have a lot of possession but could be caught out when the opposition tries to go after them as Jorginho isn’t as useful as Kante off the ball which we saw in the game against Arsenal.
Marcos Alonso has already contributed in terms of goals and assists but he continues to be a defensive liability. He often fails to cut down on crosses. The Spaniard’s work rate while tracking back is also questionable, and that was one of the reasons why Arsenal were able to fight back and produce so many dangerous low crosses in the box.
All these frailties will be exploited by teams who would like to attack. Sarri is a significant change from previous managers regarding philosophies, and we believe that he will take time before he can get the defensive setup completely spot on at the Stamford Bridge.
