2021 is undoubtedly a happy year for Blues fans. Chelsea, led by Tuchel, won the Champions League and once again reached the top of Europe after a gap of nine years. In the face of such achievements, the boss Abu did not choose the contraction strategy and continued to invest heavily in the transfer market. In August 21, Chelsea made a good start to the new season with a European Super Cup. Although the Blues have fluctuated in results after entering December under a series of blows, none of their competitors have dared to let their guard down.
Helpless to say goodbye to the famous, the Blues really can't afford to wait
In the summer of 2020, chelsea became the brightest star in the transfer market as clubs tightened their pockets due to the pandemic, waving a check from Abu to sign seven players for a total of £247 million.
Just when the Blues fans were looking forward to a big game, reality gave them a blow in the face. Lampard has never been able to integrate new signings into the team, especially the two high-value German stars, Werner did not score for a long time, and Havertz fell out of the main squad at one point. After 19 rounds, Chelsea were only in the middle of the table, losing back-to-back games to Manchester City, Arsenal and Leicester City. Such a performance was intolerable to the top and eventually sacked Lampard in January 21.
To be fair, Chelsea was in a terrible situation in 19 years, the top star left Real Madrid, the team could not be reinforced because of the transfer ban, and many managers did not want to take over the team in such a chaotic situation. Lampard, who has no top league coaching experience, was able to stand up, but also out of love for the club, the debut season to guarantee a Champions League seat, is already a pretty good result. But when the team strengthened and the goals changed, Lampard's weaknesses gradually became apparent. Although he experienced many coaches during his time as a player and worked hard to practice the concept of modern football after becoming a coach, in many ways he is still imprisoned by the old-fashioned British football thinking. For example, although his Chelsea have played beautiful offensive football, they do not know how to control the rhythm, it is difficult to retract freely, and too many straight lines lead to great ups and downs in the team, and even at different times of a game, they will judge the two teams. For example, Lampard's understanding of the position of the player is too rigid, so he is unable to flexibly create a reasonable system according to the characteristics of the players in the frontcourt. In time, Lampard has the opportunity to go further and push the limits, but under the pressure of that point in time, Chelsea obviously cannot continue to wait.
A change of coach changes the fate of both sides
Interestingly, his successor, Tuchel, has also been similarly accused. He led Paris Saint-Germain to a champions league runner-up in 2020, setting the club's best time in the Champions League in history. But Paris is full of stars, and management believes that Tuchel is not the right helmsman for the "aircraft carrier". When Chelsea, who spent thousands of dollars but found nothing, encountered Tuchel, who turned over the "aircraft carrier", the two sides quickly sparked a spark.
After Tuchel took over, he quickly put his personal imprint on the Blues. He first picked up the three-centre-back system, arranged for AZP and Rudiger to return to the starting lineup, and together with veteran Thiago Silva, formed a backcourt barrier, Chelsea's conceded balls were rapidly reduced, and sudden power outages in the game rarely occurred.
Of course, Tuchel did not complete the task with a three-centre-back formation, and he also created a reasonable set of tactics at the offensive end, explaining to the fans the meaning of the four words "teaching according to aptitude". Werner was still placed in the front position, but Tuchel's requirement for him was no longer to score first, but to use speed to break through the depth, moderately pull the edge to bring space to his teammates behind him, and at the same time, he did not hesitate to run physically when defending, reducing the burden on other attackers. Havertz also gained more freedom under Tuchel, no longer standing in one position, but by cruising widely, frequently pulling back or pulling edges, using height-combined techniques to hit the wrong position in the local area. Although the duo's data has not exploded, their role in the new system has become increasingly critical, and their presence has made the overall offense smoother.
At the same time, Tuchel did not completely deny the work of his predecessor. Lampard's promoted academy players, such as Mount and James, still dominate under him. Among them, Mount also won the England national team and participated in the European Championship with his excellent performance in the season.
While the league results have improved rapidly, Chelsea have also worked hard in the Champions League, and Tuchel's style of play has begun to really exert its power. They went all the way to the final, in which the four matches that eliminated the Madrid duo were full of gold. The two German new signings, previously known as parallel cargo, have played brilliantly in key games.
In the second leg of the semi-final against Real Madrid, Havertz picked a shot that hit the crossbar and Werner scored in front of goal. Chelsea extended their advantage further with an away goal in hand, and in the end Mount sealed the victory in the second half and the Blues advanced to the final with their heads held high.
Their opponent in the final is Manchester City. Although Tuchel is a coach who pursues delicate attacks, he is not as obsessed with possession as Guardiola. In the final, we can feel the difference between the two teams very clearly, Chelsea is far behind the opponent in terms of possession, but because the three lines are more balanced, they do not suffer at all at both ends.
Look at how Chelsea defended City's proud transposition tactics in the attack and defense above. When pseudo-nine De Bruyne took Jorginho with him, AZP took the initiative to follow City left-back Zinchenko, who had been brought in. Meanwhile, Kante relied on a quick run, forming a triangle with AZP and Werner in the middle, compressing space and City was forced to move the ball to the left. De Bruyne's wing tried to get rid of Giogenio to send a straight block, but AZP had returned to the defensive line to complete the clearance. Throughout the process, AZP and Jorginho made two substitutions in the longitudinal direction, ensuring that there was always someone in the back position, and Kante and Werner had a lateral movement and a deep recovery defense respectively. Starting from the front of the AZP, the coordination between several Chelsea players is tightly seamless and impeccable, which is the value of the defensive level. People often call the exquisite coordination of the position in the attack art, in fact, the horizontal and vertical cover between each other when defending, the rotation of positions, and the arrangement of cutting routes to compress the space are also art. City's lack of players who can use their height and strength to create gaps in the area has made it more difficult for them to crack Tuchel's defensive system.
It is not enough to limit City's attack, Chelsea also have to have the means to fight back. In fact, despite being far behind their opponents in possession, the Blues have a higher number of shots on goal. Their centre-backs are not only defensively excellent, but also technically excellent, which means Chelsea can efficiently deliver the ball to the feet of the midfield in a short period of time. The three attackers in front can also take care of each other, and in the absence of a traditional centre-forward Giroud, Werner has the speed have Havts height skills, and the two play a role as a center forward together in the front, the former constantly sprinting deep, at one point causing Stones to make mistakes, and the latter repeatedly moving between the opposing defender and the midfielder, looking for opportunities. The third attacker, Mount, kept running to pass as an adhesive.
The goal that determines the title of champion is done by these three people together. Mount la over the flank sent a straight plug, Werner obliquely inserted out of space, and the two men pinned down City's centre-back. At this point, Havertz suddenly accelerated as he moved from the wing to the middle, forming a "misplaced" advantage, throwing off Zinchenko, passing Edson, and scoring a valuable goal.
Boss Abu was strong in his investment, management was the last to bring in reinforcements, Tuchel maximized the potential of this group of players after taking over, and the players repaid the trust of the coach with their performance. This Champions League trophy is the best tribute for the Blues.
New goals, new changes, new troubles
This summer, Abu once again exerted his "money ability", bringing a gift to the fans: Lukaku, which is intended to make up for the shortcomings of the front. At the same time, the club also loaned Saúl from Atletico, and although Conde's deal was not finally negotiated with Sevilla, this is enough to prove that Chelsea are not satisfied with just one Champions League. Winning the European Super Cup has only accomplished a small goal for the new season.
The Champions League squad was reinforced again and Chelsea showed very good momentum after the start of the new season.
Lukaku, who was heavily introduced, also made his declaration of return with a beautiful goal against Arsenal.
However, the good times did not last long, and after playing Zenit in the Champions League group stage in September, Lukaku fell into a goal drought. Especially after consecutive losses to Manchester City and Juve, there have been many doubts in the outside world. In fact, Havertz and Lukaku are both talented and talented players, and in theory, the pair is very lethal, but we rarely see such a scene on the pitch, and even Havertz, who played well in the first half of the year, has also been affected.
Lukaku, like Werner, is a fast striker, but the individual abilities of the two players are quite different, which means that Lukaku cannot serve the team as a full supporting role like Venar, and he needs more ball rights to play his role. Yes, two talented players can complete a subtle combination in a local flexible way.
For example, on the ribs of Toulukaku to do the ball, Havertz inserted it from the wing into the box, but unfortunately the ball was slightly larger and could not complete the shot. But more often, two tall players face a problem.
In this attack, for example, Havertz did not have the upper hand in the first confrontation with De Ligt on the flank, but he reacted quickly in the second, interfering with his long legs and forcing the opponent to break the siege. At this time, Lukaku also came to the wing, hoping to launch a second wave of attack, but we should note that Chelsea did not have any other players to move closer to the two teammates on the flank, and Ziyech was still in the middle. Although neither Lukaku nor Havertz are bulky types, their height means they are destined not to have the flexibility of a short player, to flash around in tight spaces, and to need the movement support of other shorter players when the two are partially close together. Last season Chelsea placed the likes of Werner and Mount around Havertz, and Inter paired Lukaku with players such as Lautaro Martinez and Barrera. And this season, when Lukaku plays at the same time as Havertz, there can only be one more person on the offensive line, and if you want to increase the number of people in the back row, then you must take into account the defensive problems.
We look at it above, juve passed through Chelsea's first two layers of defence with a very easy pass at the back because Lukaku and Havertz couldn't consistently put pressure on the ball.
Lukaku was injured while Tuchel was still trying to pinch the attacking system, but Chelsea used the opportunity to rediscover the feeling of attack.
Tuchel made some changes to last season's tactics, having arranged for Havertz to play a pseudo-nine without Werner, sacrificing some speed, but with two shorter players, he took his maneuverability to the extreme. The front trident can be swapped between each other, and with the two wing-backs switching to the middle from time to time according to the situation on the pitch and Kante's back row insertion, Chelsea played a highlight performance, and the attack and defense were almost impeccable.
Because the Blues are often able to use mobility to form an absolute numerical advantage in the local area, the two wing-backs can often boldly enter the middle and get a lot of opportunities to directly threaten the goal.
Rees James scored a beautiful goal in the home game against Juve to help the team successfully complete their revenge.
But there are also limits to this lineup, there are no tall players in the frontcourt except For Havertz, most of them are flexible but absolutely not fast enough, which means that the attackers have to do a lot of confrontation while running frequently to create space.
For example, in the match against Everton, Pulisic was still able to complete the turn with dexterity this time in the second half of the game, but then the speed was obviously not up, and the opponent completed the break. This is that the short player takes on too much confrontation, and the consumption is too large, resulting in a decrease in the success rate of taking the ball. So you could say that Saul is not in good form off the bench, but Tuchel's choice to use him to go to the front line to increase the ability to fight in the front is completely no problem. Even Havertz has been injured under this system. Therefore, the high-mobility playing style can be used as a tactical change or an emergency strategy to play for a period of time, but it is impossible to support a season. Both Conte and Sarri have tried the three small tactics in the front, and I believe Chelsea fans remember the final result.
Unfortunately, when Romelu Lukaku returned, Chelsea suffered injuries in other positions, With Chilwell being reimbursed for the season and Reese James also coming off injured against Brighton. No one in Chelsea has been able to do 20 rounds of the Premier League this season, with Mendy and Rudiger the highest number of appearances, both playing 19 league games. In fact, Chelsea's staffing and coaching tactical changes have helped them survive the first wave of attrition, and by the Devils fixtures in December, they really couldn't stand it and conceded consecutive points.
Looking ahead to 2022, coaches and management still have work to do
Despite the downshoots affecting results, Chelsea still have a chance to compete for the title trophy this season.
Tuchel failed to pinch Lukaku and Havertz together in the first half for various reasons, and in the second half he needed to consider the optimal solution for the attack line. Even Saul, who had high hopes, has not yet integrated into the team. If Tuchel can take this opportunity to adjust tactics and lead Chelsea to another good result, then his career can also be taken to a higher level.
For the management, whether to introduce reinforcements in the winter window, how to attract reinforcements is also a test. Chilwell was reimbursed, Thiago Silva, Kanter and Reese James were all plagued by injuries, and the pressure on the personnel in the midfield was very high. Whether negotiations with Sevilla to restart Comte and whether to consider the introduction of new full-backs are some of the more pressing issues today. We don't doubt Abu's wallet, but the winter window is reinforced, and in addition to money, the vision of management and the manager is also very important. If Chelsea can bring in the right people to survive this toughest period, they have a chance to continue to maintain a strong presence on both sides in the second half.
Of course, the big test is still next summer, The contracts of Rudiger, Thiago Silva, Christensen and AZP will expire in the summer of 22 years, these four players are the core force of the Blues' defense, and the team will hardly bear the consequences of losing four centre-backs. Therefore, before the end of the season, the management must deal with the renewal of the four-man contract, otherwise it will be a serious blow to the team, both at the tactical level and the spiritual level.
epilogue
Chelsea had a successful year, they found the right person to revive Tuchel, they brought in a group of power stars, they cultivated young talents have become the backbone, they won the Champions League and the European Super Cup, and they are about to attack the Club World Cup.
Chelsea may not be the most star-studded team, but the team's rational staffing and tactical richness mean that their fighting ability is still not to be underestimated. It is true that the team's performance has been affected by severe attrition during this period, but asserting that the team has no hope this season is too arbitrary, although they may need to make trade-offs when fighting on multiple fronts.
in Rorschach