London is Blue Dispatch #092

Six finals, said Enzo Maresca when asked about the remaining PL games. And a game as tight and tense as a final it turned out to be. 1 big chance between two teams over 90 minutes, less than 1 xG between them. And in the end took a moment of individual brilliance from Pedro Neto to clinch what could prove to be a vital win in the race for Champions League football, now level with Villa and needing a win against Newcastle to leapfrog them into the hallowed spots.

First Half: familiar failings.

The warning signs were there. Reece James moved out of his right-back position, one from where he earned his boyhood club a Champions League, and inverted into midfield, where Maresca was convinced Reece belonged after watching his games as a teenager at Wigan in the Championship. Marco Silva must have studied the tape. There is enough evidence that Reece can be pressed when he cannot use his imposing frame to shield the ball against a touchline. There have been many occasions of players stealing the ball from a player yet to be anywhere close to his peak physical condition.

Early on, Fulham nicked the ball and sent it straight to the right channel, to set a player 1v1 against a CB. This is a key weakness of using an inverted FB, and it set a Fulham attacker 1v1 vs our CB, Trevoh Chalobah. But despite witnessing Fulham latch on to Reece as a weakness, despite knowing his poorly conditioned team could not withstand a fitter, quicker Fulham, he kept Reece there. Sure enough, the second time Fulham nicked the ball off Reece, they scored.

After 25 odd minutes, Fulham’s blitzkrieg started to wane. The press dropped intensity, and the line receded into a more manageable position. Yet there was little hint of urgency or initiative from the Blues. 4 meagre shots were all that an increasingly worn out frontline managed before the break.

The turning point

Maresca has been using half-time subs to manage the game-time of specific players and Reece and Madueke were both taken off perhaps keeping their injury issues in mind. Bringing Gusto on did seem to improve the unit as a whole, and Fulham’s recent 2^nd half collapses must have featured heavily on the team talk. They’d conceded 10 goals after the 75^th minute.

With no Marc Guiu or Nkunku around, Maresca turned to Tyrique George to replace the listless Nicolas Jackson, who is now 13 games without a goal, missing his 13^th big chance in a row in the process. Playing up front against Andersen and Bassey, two hulking figures with excellent dueling capabilities was never going to be easy. There were just four touches in 12 minutes, just the two passes made. But one those four arrived at the edge of the box, and the 19-year-old caught it true, nestling it past Leno.

The realization must have hit as sweetly as Tyrique’s shot. One more goal, and Newcastle and Forest would be within touching distance with only 5 games left and a game against each to come. Chelsea had scored after the 90^th minute only once before this season – a sweetly struck Reece James freekick to salvage a point against Bournemouth. They also hadn’t scored a winner after the 85^th minute winner since Christopher Nkunku’s wonder goal earned 3 points against checks notes Bournemouth. Fulham were similarly porous in the dying moments of games.

Neto’s winner was a thing of beauty. An exhilarating first touch, a balletic pirouette that spun him into perfect position to thump a volley so strong that Leno could barely react before it whooshed past him. And just like that, the pressure valve released - a first away win in the PL in nine games; the first against an opponent in the top half of the table since the start of the year. One final down, five more to go - hopefully a Conference League final to add to it too.

On Maresca

Maresca’s delight knew no bounds, literally, as his celebration took him past his technical area and earned him a yellow. Post the final whistle though, he walked straight past the fans and into the tunnel. One cannot fault him for it after enduring the wrath of the Chelsea faithful lately, and he can, and should be given some grace for what could be a season-defining win. He does need to recognize that a game cannot always be won in the manner that it was against Fulham – 0.06 xG on Tyrique’s shot and 0.07 on Neto’s. Cucurella’s winner against Leicester was 0.04. Jadon Sancho’s equalizer against Ipswich was 0.05. All of these classify as wondergoals borne out of individual brilliance, not out of tactical ingenuity.

Perhaps this is Maresca’s cue to take what has been good in his system – the control, the admirable defensive numbers and to combine them with gifting his players the freedom to colour outside of his tactical contours. Let Palmer go right, bring Neto closer to the center. Give Tyrique the chance to own a left wing position that may be vacant in the summer.

Last season, Chelsea lost 5-0 against Arsenal, went three without a win before winning five on a bounce including against Tottenham and Forest. A similar run now will almost certainly ensure CL football and a change in the narrative of the season.