In a 1-1 draw with Brighton, Tuchel's Chelsea suffered a four-round winless run in the Premier League, and the decline continued. Tuchel, who has just won fifa's coach of the year, is facing a "rebuilding" of the past system. To put it bluntly, after the injuries of Reece James and Chilwell, Chelsea's key frontcourt side did not find the right confrontation, impact, and strong point with the ball, and the team's system gradually began to "collapse".
[The full-backs of the squad fell one after another, and the Tuchel system gradually collapsed]
Why is it that after the injuries of Chilwell and Rees James, Chelsea's attacking and defensive system gradually collapsed and needed to be rebuilt?
First, in Tuchel's system, the high "3+2 (three centre-backs + double backs)" position can ensure the control of the ball and have enough troops to deal with the attack and defense. In this case, the team pressed the opponent in the half to get the offensive space, the width of the front court is very critical.
The requirement for wing-backs can be boiled down to lateral passing and countering impact. Chilwell and Rees James are the most suitable candidates.
Second, Chelsea's other wing-backs are not "comprehensive" enough.
Alonso has good delivery ability, but lacks a burst point effect; azp quality is comprehensive, but he is old; Odoi has a burst point and mobility, but the transmission ability is more "erratic". Tuchel also tried playing wing-backs with Ziyech, Pulisic and others, but the overall effect was still not good.
As a result, Chelsea's record has begun to decline since Chilwell's injury-ridden 4-0 win over Juve in the Champions League group stage on 23 November last year. Immediately after Reece James was seriously injured, Chelsea's decline began to become irreversible: in 11 rounds of the Premier League, the team won only 3 games. From the top of the table, it has slipped to the third place in the table, and the point difference from Manchester City has temporarily widened to 12 points.
[Tuchel's asymmetrical "new move", what is the core purpose]
What's changed tonight in Tuchel? To put it bluntly, it is an asymmetrical three-centre-back system:
First, when defending the position, Ziyech assumed the responsibility of retreating, but his actual position was still not a wing-back.
Second, when the team attacks, only one of Azp and Alonso will completely interject. The right side is handed over to Ziyekh, whose core advantage is also the last pass/shot on the right side of the rib. When the azp is not pre-emptive, he cannot take care of the right side of the line, and needs someone to support him with impact and confrontation.
Chart: Chelsea's average position in the first half
Taking on the key of the front plug to support the right side, the game is Kante. He has the ability to hold the ball, fight, and has a clearer idea of team coordination, as long as he can attack the opposing defense, Nazieh will work on the right rib. Whether it's a shot on goal, or the iconic left-footed arc ball looking for the far end.
Pictured: A panoramic view of Chelsea's goals
We can clearly see that after the sister-in-law receives The Lydiger's cross, the displacement of the azp is to insert the front and then slightly withdraw the pull edge, creating a 45-degree side space. At this time, when Kanter moved to the empty position of receiving the ball, Ziyech gave up the wing to the ribs. With the two playing together, Kante's forward insertion and possession of the ball are very critical, and after his return pass, the empty Ziyech can cross to the back point (Lukaku is attracted in the penalty area, Hudsoido is also premised, and Alonso has a back-point vacancy). But Ziyech opted for a cold shot from the periphery, hitting Brighton goalkeeper Sanchez off guard and the ball into the net.
[Insufficient oppression of the opponent to fight back sharply, did not lose thanks to him]
Brighton is a "small team", whether it is the star taste of the players, or the comprehensive ability, there is a big gap compared with Chelsea. But coach Graham Porter's passing system is well-formed and stable. Last season, they beat strong teams such as Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in the case of a serious lack of finishing ability, which also made Guardiola praise.
Chelsea's system tonight, on the one hand, is unable to fully squeeze Brighton's formation back into the half at the offensive end, so that they can do more high pressing; on the other hand, the overall rebound speed of the wing-backs is not up to standard, so that Brighton can fully play their passing and running coordination.
Pictured: Reese James' role in the back defense confrontation is very large, and it was previously "underestimated"
Without the speed and confrontation between Rees James and Chilwell in the return defense, Chelsea could only withdraw the formation as a whole in order to alleviate the pressure on the defensive line. But the problem is that Ziyech's defensive confrontation is relatively weak, azp does not dare to rush to mention it without a strong point in front of him, coupled with the frequent substitution of the front trident to bring about the far-end empty position, Chelsea's impact on the right side is very obvious. Also don't forget that Lampte has used his own explosive point to fight in this game, and "tortured" Alonso very badly.
Pictured: A panoramic view of The Attack before Brighton's corner kicks are scored
Brighton's style of play is very physically demanding, so the backhand adjustment is very critical. Graham Porter replaced Trossard and Mopai, and it was meant to harvest again in the final stage. But the problem is that Mo Pai's state in this game is very bad, not only did he waste absolute empty opportunities in the penalty area, but his running with his teammates can also be called "disturbing" himself.
Pictured: The perfect opportunity wasted in the Mopai game
【Conclusion】
Previously, when coaching Dort and Grand Paris, Tuchel had a "molding system" because of the failure of personnel injury, frequent adjustments did not meet the standard.
For example, before leaving class in Greater Paris, he frequently experimented with 433, 4231, 442, 352, 343, 4141, 4222 and other formations. Moreover, the 343, 4141, 352, 442 and other formations chose to give up after an experiment.
Pictured: Some of the formations that Tuchel experimented with before the end of classes in Greater Paris
As for how Tuchel will adjust next, no one can guess. Whether he continues the previously built system through fine-tuning, or whether he pushes down and then runs in again, will bring a new round of running-in of the team.