Chelsea look intensely porous and shattered to bits after a bad start to the new season. All of this is despite bringing in big names over the summer transfer window. Raheem Sterling, was brought from Manchester City while Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly was signed to strengthen the defence.
The Blues were not done and signed Brighton’s Marc Cucurella and then broke record by making Wesley Fofana their costliest defender ever. They have given underwhelming performances on a roll, struggling at the back and failing to score goals. Thomas Tuchel is set to have a very long season ahead of himself and some critical decisions to make. The players seem lacking in confidence and attention, being caught on the ball easier than ever while being dominated in possession every game. Chelsea’s beautiful style of play has seemed to die, with them playing unentertaining and boring football.
So, what’s wrong with Chelsea? We try to analyse.
Chelsea 2020/21 UEFA Champions League winners
Thomas Tuchel took over at Chelsea in January 2021, and his goal since his arrival was very clear. He wanted to make Chelsea a team every club in the league hates facing. One of his main aims was to make Chelsea hard to beat and win the biggest and most prestigious titles in football. After Frank Lampard’s dismissal, Tuchel brought a new style of play to the team, one even the fans loved watching. When Chelsea played under Tuchel, they owned the pitch and the ball. They dictated the game themselves, and they had total control.
Frank Lampard’s 4-3-3 formation and tactics were heavily flawed, which left them open to counterattacks while they used to attack in the final third. For this reason, they could only keep just three clean sheets from the first 12 games that season until Tuchel’s appointment. They wanted a system in which they could defend better and have control of the ball.
Tuchel introduced a three-man backline behind a two-man pivot in the midfield. This helped them become solid in the central areas of the pitch, retain the ball and be resistant to counters. This was along with two wing-backs who stayed wide and forward with two attacking midfielders who supplied a single striker. This helped the side pressurise the opposing side back to their box. This 3-4-2-1 formation provided stability and was quite similar to Antonio Conte’s tactics back in 2016-17’s title-winning season. This helped the Blues bag 31 clean sheets in Tuchel’s first 50 games, play exciting…
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