London is Blue Dispatch #044

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The first time it happened, it was easy to dismiss as a one-off. Mykhailo Mudryk had the ball on the left flank, with Coufal and Alvarez, one of West Ham’s defensive midfielders, doubling up on him. Instead of driving down the line and crossing under duress like he usually does, Misha fizzed a cutback into the space vacated by Alvarez and Coufal. Arriving there to shoot was not Cole Palmer or Conor Gallagher, but Noni Madueke – unmarked, from the other wing.

The second time it happened, there was no dismissing it as coincidence. As Trev Chalobah received the ball in his own half under no pressure, Madueke was casually backing away to the touchline, Emerson Palmieri walking towards him to close the distance. The next action was a blur; Madueke exploded inside. Emerson, a ballerina hit by a freeze ray, was caught cold mid-pirouette as Chalobah played a pass-of-the-season contender to split West Ham’s defensive line. The only thing as astounding as that move was that Noni found himself 1v1 with the keeper, under little pressure, with the angle favoring a finish with his stronger left, and yet he chose to square it to the player he had fought with over a penalty only weeks ago.

No more evidence was required to validate that the long elusive turning point had been reached. The 5-0 dismantling of West Ham was a work of art, a mosaic assembled with shards of radiant quality. The first goal was carved out of a 22-pass attacking sequence that lasted 75 seconds, each pass exuding a measure of calm, purpose and assurance that has seldom been seen in an often reckless, naïve side perpetually high on an adrenaline rush.

The role Pochettino was referring to was Marc Cucurella’s shift to inverted fullback; the chair he is referencing is Chelsea’s strongest run of form under his reign. An abysmal display against Arsenal aside, Chelsea have only one loss in their last 12 league games and sit 4^th in the form table since the start of the year. The implication from Poch is that the bare bones of his squad needed to be loosely made into something resembling a skeleton, a team with the bare minimum structure, before the flesh and blood of tactical work could breathe life into it.

With 14 injuries up until last game, three out of four fullbacks injured and only two senior CMs fit, Chelsea’s front 6 have started four of the Blues’ last five league games. Cucurella, since appearing on the bench vs Brentford after ankle surgery, has started all 12 games since, in which he played every minute of regulation time barring three.

In the last three, he has been a revelation in central midfield, with positive knock-on effects on the fortunes of several other players. Moises Caicedo seems to be thriving with the presence of another body in central midfield; in the three games Cucurella has inverted in Conor Gallagher has notched two goals and an assist, empowered to make his trademark late runs into the box. With collective confidence growing and under-fire players receiving consistent game time, it isn’t unsurprising to see decision-making improve on an individual level.

With United and Spurs both sputtering towards the finish line, there is still a slim chance to exceed this season’s expectations and steal 5^th. Even a 6^th place finish with Europa League with three strong wins to finish the campaign would arguably give Poch the credit he needs in the bank to implement his tactical vision for this side. With Nkunku & Gusto making a comeback last game and Reece James & Levi Colwill returns on the horizon, this would be the best time to uproot some trees and intimidate Forest.