Chelsea have put in a tame defence of their Premier League title as they are already 15 points off the pace. They remain in a Champions League position, but Tottenham are building momentum in 5th place and five doesn’t go into four. It would be incredible if the Blues went from champions to the Europa League, but their decline during 2015/16 showed that nothing can be taken for granted. Antonio Conte would have realised the challenge on his hands when the season kicked off. He hadn’t been backed substantially in the transfer window and the players looked undercooked during their opening weekend defeat to Burnley. Although they remain one of the better teams in the division, there is huge room for improvement.
They are having a stuttering period recently as they have drawn 0-0 in their last three matches across all competitions. Against Leicester City, they were especially poor as they created few chances and were arguably the worse team on the day. The Foxes did have a man sent off in the second half, but they should have been in the lead before then and the home side were fortunate to take a point. Their three successive clean sheets show that their defence remains reliable. However, their attacking set-up isn’t working.
Conte has moved away from his successful 3-4-3 to a 3-5-2. To the layman, that change shouldn’t have made such a big difference, but when watching Chelsea, it is obvious the new tactical set-up is unbalanced. They are slower in transition and often rely on their central midfielders to provide the drive and creativity. Tieumoue Bakayoko has been average at best since signing for the club, which has been a huge disappointment.
Cesc Fabregas is producing good numbers, as he averages 3.97 chances created per ninety minutes. Surprisingly, this is more than Kevin de Bruyne, who is averaging 3.12 chances created per ninety minutes. The fact that the Manchester City has five more assists in the Premier League this season indicates that he is creating higher quality chances and that he is providing for better finishers. Alvaro Morata’s finishing has been questioned recently and this is another factor in Chelsea’s underwhelming attacking output. The Blues have scored 41 goals, which is the joint-fewest of any team in the top six.
The three-man midfield is a big problem for Chelsea to solve. Cesc Fabregas and N’Golo Kante may not be performing to their maximum, but they remain two leading Premier League players. The problem lies with the player in the other position, as Bakayoko doesn’t offer a lot of quality either in or out of possession. Meanwhile, Danny Drinkwater is tidy in possession, but he isn’t offering anything to the attack, which means he is more or less a waste of a shirt.
However, the more significant attacking issue for the Blues is the lack of influence that Eden Hazard is having on games. He was once talked about as one of the best players in the world, but he is struggling to justify being talked about as one of the leading performers in the Premier League. The Belgian international has contributed only one goal and one assist in his last seven Premier League matches. For a player with his quality, that isn’t good enough.
As he is being used in a free role supporting Alvaro Morata, he is taking up central areas to pick up the ball before driving into wide spaces as he tries to create space. For opposition teams, it is encouraging to see Hazard move away from the goal, as he is less effective when in wide positions. Last season, he was given license to roam, but he was being played in a left-wing position. Most often, he would receive the ball on the left and he would only be given the option to drive in-field with it. This created more problems for defenders as he was running into threatening positions. At the time of writing, he is easy to defend against as he is predictable. That needs to change.
Antonio Conte will be hoping that the arrival of Ross Barkley will add a much-needed drive to the central midfield. During his time at Everton, he was very impressive in transition and was capable of carrying the ball long distances. Chelsea need dynamism and the England international could be the player to provide it. In the meantime, a change back to 3-4-3 could be what the team need to return to winning ways. Hazard would be moved back into a wide position and either Pedro or Willian could be reinstated to provide another goal threat.
