London is Blue Dispatch #018

An exhilarating London derby on the weekend yielded happiness and heartache in equal measure before the spoils were shared. Here are a few interesting subplots you may have missed in a game that for the first sixty minutes, was the Blues’ best showing under Mauricio Pochettino.

The Prelude

Going toe-to-toe with Arsenal from the beginning would have been a reckless strategy. While Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard played in Europe in the international break and Jorginho was dropped from the Italy squad, Enzo and Caicedo returned on long flights from South America. Pochettino even hinted post-match that neither was fully fit. Arsenal have also been stronger in the second half of games (10 of their 16 goals before the derby came in the 2^nd half, both their strikes against us came in the second half too.) With Nico Jackson undergoing surgery on his wrist and Disasi nursing a quad injury, two recent starters were also doubts.

Poch drops the press

In the first five games, Chelsea’s passes per defensive action (ppda) measured only 6.54, meaning they allowed six-and-a-half passes before a defensive action. Over the last two games against Burnley and Fulham, that number dropped to 10.54. Poch had tried to ease off his opponent, lure them out and create space in behind at the same time. Against Arsenal, our ppda was 31.

What Poch essentially did was allow Arsenal’s CBs to have the ball, asking his players to press sparingly and prioritize a compact 4-4-2. The front two (Gallagher and Palmer for this game) did not always press the CBs. They instead blocked central access to Jorginho and the inverting Zinchenko. Caicedo and Enzo blocked off access to Rice and Ødegaard, preventing them from receiving between lines.

The aggressive, full-blooded press was sprung only when Arsenal made their way past the halfway line, or played into the wide pressing traps. In the first half, it worked. Arsenal managed only one shot on target, a blocked attempt worth a meagre 0.12xG. Ødegaard and Jorginho kept much of the ball, but their most notable moments were surrendering it to us with misplaced passes. The second goal came as a result of Gallagher winning the ball wide, near the halfway line. It was our best out-of-possession performance yet.

Misha’s Defensive Positioning

Mudryk’s had a fantastic fortnight – a first goal for us vs Fulham, a first goal for Ukraine vs Malta and his first goal at the Bridge against the side we snatched him away from. However, there were still many glimpses of why he’s still a work-in-progress.

The first sign came in the 17^th minute, when Saliba passed to White on the right flank. Mudryk did the first bit right; he responded quickly by shunting wide from his position in the narrow 4-4-2. However, he did not choose the right angles to cut out the pass to Saka, allowing White to find him with an easy pass. Had Saka laid it off inside, Ødegaard would have had a free run at Colwill.

The second came in the 26^th minute, where he allowed too much distance between him and his marker to receive from a Chelsea press. Enzo was visibly upset, throwing up his arms as if to say “you should have jumped quicker.” Less than ten minutes later, Mudryk drew Enzo’s ire again after failing to back up the press, allowing Saka to receive and turn metres ahead of him.

Arteta must have caught on to Mudryk’s hesitation. It was not an easy tactical duty – he had to stay narrow to prevent passes inside to Ødegaard or Saka drifting inside, and then immediately press when the ball went to the fullback, to prevent Saka and White getting 2v1 on Cucurella.

Mudryk (bottom right) cutting off lane to Ødegaard, but also has to press White (on ball) as soon as he enters the Chelsea half

In the first minute of the second half, Jorginho dropped to RCB next to White leaving Mudryk in limbo. This allowed Jorginho time and space to hit a long ball for Gabriel Jesus at the edge of our box, who luckily found no teammate with a knockdown. In the 59^th minute, Mudryk again allowed White to pass down the line to Saka, who hassled Cucurella and won a freekick. Five minutes later, Mudryk was subbed, and Sterling was moved to the left, due to his superior reading of the press.

Gamble Goes Wrong?

Perhaps the most debatable decision was Poch introducing Madueke in place of Sterling. With Saka growing into the game and getting the better of Cucurella in the 2^nd half, plus additional pressure being heaped by Ødegaard drifting left and White pushing up, the left side needed defensive reinforcing more than it did forward thrust. Perhaps Ian Maatsen, a leftback by trade, one who had featured prominently on the left side in preseason, would have made for a wiser alternative than playing Madueke on his less-preferred flank. Seconds after he came on, Madueke failed to cut out Saka’s cross to the far post. Gusto erred and lost Trossard, Sanchez capped a woeful night with some questionable positioning.

All these factors shouldn’t take away from the fact that for the better part of an hour, without their first choice leftback, rightback and their best attacker, Chelsea nullified Arsenal completely and had them on the ropes for large spells. Poch’s strategy was excellent, and the execution by a young team was as good. Now to extend that hour-long showing to ninety minutes, and we will firmly be in business this season.