Chelsea vs Wolves Tactical Review: How Blues Dismantled Wolves' Back 5

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Before this weekend’s 3-0 dismantling of a rudderless Wolves side, Chelsea had only won two of their six league games against sides playing a back 3/5. Yes, those three wins have come against a hapless West Ham, a crisis-ridden Nottingham Forest & now Wolves, but there were some finer tactical aspects ably executed by Enzo Maresca’s side to ensure there would be no dropped points against the PL’s basement-dwellers at Stamford Bridge.

Disengaging Joao Pedro

Just short of a 100 seconds into the game, Joao Pedro, for once, was exactly where he wanted to be. Back 5s have proven to be the Brazilian’s bane this far - just 4 shots in five games against back fives where he started as the 9 underlined significant struggles leading the line as the reference point.

Here though, the returning Delap was here to do the thankless work for him, pinning at least two of Wolves’ 3 CBs at all times. This creates that vital corridor of time and space Joao Pedro often thrives in, slipping into pockets, turning to face runners and taking up elusive positions for shots.

Close to the end of the half, this was evident again as he dropped to assist in build up.

You can see that there is ample time to receive and turn, with Wolves’ wide CB (Toti) far too slow to get tight to him.

When he does turn, Joao Pedro now has two isolations to target - Neto vs Hugo Bueno (LWB) and Delap vs Krejčí (CCB.) His pass unfortunately is rushed and wayward. This is where he wants to be, disengaged from the last line, that connecting presence between midfield & attack, the ghost that pops up in the box when the CBs are occupied by Delap.

There is evidence in the numbers too - in 14 games since the start of the season, Joao Pedro has had shots on target in only 4 of those. In three of those four games, Delap was playing as the 9 ahead of him. In the 10 games where he had 0 shots, he was either paired with Tyrique George or had to slog at 9 himself.

Off-the-ball runs

Nicolas Jackson’s exit and Delap’s injury-enforced absence were contributions to a stale Chelsea attack that offered very little movement to disorient stubborn back 5s. With Delap & Garnacho now inching towards full fitness and Pedro Neto showcasing his best work as a 9 for the 3rd Chelsea goal, for once the Blues were able to cause massive issues off-the-ball.

Enzo’s passing was at its sparkling best in a game where he topped the charts for throughballs and progressive passes. However, that took away some attention from some of his off-the-ball intelligence that helped create openings for the other Argentinian who starred on the day.

With a back 5 offering easily doubling up against the wingers, Enzo was aware that he would have to even the odds on the last line to help Garnacho get more even footing against his fullback. The trigger was a pass into Cucurella, after which Enzo would drop from the attacking 3rd to offer a passing option, dragging out Santiago Bueno, the RCB, with him.

The movement from Enzo is diagonally wide, opening up a direct passing lane for Cucurella to hit Garnacho with. The first attempt is a nice idea for a throughball in behind the RWB Tchatchoua, which is intercepted.

A few minutes later, Cucurella receives once more and Enzo drops into that left pocket again, signalling to Garnacho to reset & get onside. He then hits a wonderful first time throughball in behind Tchatchoua into the box, which Garnacho latches on to. Delap is inside the box, but the cutback is parried over by Johnstone, ensuring neither Delap nor Joao Pedro get a clean connection.

The chemistry between the Argentinians on the left side was a very encouraging sign indeed, and rest assured, Lionel Scaloni will be keeping a keen eye on it with only a few months to go before the World Cup.

Structure & High Line

Massive injuries in the CB department have led to chopping and changing at the back, and it can be safely said that the Tosin-Chalobah nexus has suffered due to imbalances. Tosin isn’t aggressive or quick enough to deal with CFs that like to drop, while his covering abilities have also been called into question on the goal vs Brentford and the disallowed Josh King goal.

Wes Fofana’s return has helped stabilize a volatile foundation. Despite him being at around 60% match sharpness, Maresca demanded courage and aggression against a Wolves side expected to hit on the break. Wes and Trev pushed up very high here and held the highest line yet against a back 5, despite some quick operators in the Wolves’ forward line.

Take a look here at Chelsea’s average positions vs a few back 5 sides, of the two CBs most importantly. Against Wolves', and here was the average position vs Wolves. A higher line & more compact spacing between lines led to a field tilt of 78.9%, Chelsea’s highest yet in the league, with 5 high turnovers to show for it.

Recovering two key off-ball elements, a CB with the athleticism & recovery pace to push the line high & Joao Pedro’s positional adjustment all helped created the ideal conditions for taking apart a back 5, presenting an ideal blueprint to use against sterner iterations of a system that has offered many a bump on the road.

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