London is Blue Dispatch #023

After a hiccup against high-flying Newcastle, a valiant display in which we played a half with ten men saw us bring down Brighton with a well-deserved 3-2 win that helped us take a step up the PL ladder. Here are a few talking points from the game that could prove crucial against United:

Heavy pressure, light work

Even against an injury-hit Brighton, a fierce press/counterpress is a near guarantee. They sit second in the table for PPDA (passes per defensive action) behind Spurs, and they came to try and win the ball back in areas from where they could wreak maximum havoc.

Our solutions to this were multi-faceted. In the second half, Poch used Disasi as a long-ball outlet on the right flank to evade it altogether, since we were a man short. In the first half however, there was a brave, high-risk approach. Here for instance, you can see Brighton with a 5 to 4 advantage inside our own box before a medium ball to Disasi takes all of them out and flips it to a 5v4 advantage to us in their half.

This was not a one-off. The technical floor of the team with three ball playing CBs, an ex-Brighton pivot trained by De Zerbi to be excellent in these situations and Enzo, ensure we play courageously even against the best pressing sides. With Manchester United’s weakness in defensive transition, luring their frontline to press before slicing through it could prove decisive.

The Big Ben Effect

Benoit Badiashile’s long awaited return vs Newcastle almost got off to a dream start as he leapt above the Magpies’ defence from a corner to plant a fierce header straight at Pope. Sofascore registered that as a big chance missed. There was, however, no repeat as he proved crucial on a corner against Brighton, rising high head the ball upwards, before smacking it over his shoulder for Enzo’s goal. The game he played before Newcastle was Blackburn in the EFL Cup, where he scored from a short corner. Add to the mix that his aerial duel success% was 71% last season, and the Frenchman is already proving how indispensable a presence he can be in both boxes. Chelsea now have four goals from 20 shots from corners. We had five from 77 last season, a good sign. He also finished the Brighton game as the leading chance creator in the team with two. With Luke Shaw slated to start at centerback for United, who have an aerial duel success % of only 47%, Badiashile to score from a set-piece would be a solid bet.

Jackson’s thankless slog

It was another game where Nico Jackson continued to polish his rough edges. A strong far post header across goal to keep Gallagher’s corner in play led to an easy tap in for Levi Colwill to make it 2-0, helping him bag his first assist for the club. Before that moment, there were little moments of promise – a nice backheel and a delicate pass between three defenders to combine with Sterling, sprinting to win the ball from Van Hecke in Brighton’s defensive 3^rd, before a mazy dribble saw him within inches of getting Enzo a third goal of the evening. With a man down, he dropped back regularly, offered a couple of lovely instances of hold up play as an outlet of pressure, tirelessly chased long balls into the channels and drove forward from a defensive corner before laying Sterling’s ball near perfectly in Mudryk’s path for the sequence that earned us the winning goal.

There remain, understandably, questions about whether he can become a world-class finisher and box-threat worthy of Chelsea’s finest 9s, but Jackson ended up demonstrating what a fine addition he has been to Chelsea’s tactical setup. All this, while starting as the number 9 for a senior team for the very first time in his career. Astonishingly, he is now only two goals away from bettering last season’s top scorer, and equaling the best goal return by a Chelsea centerforward since the 19/20 season, when Tammy Abraham managed 15. There are still 24 games of the season left to play. Manchester United is on the menu next.