{"id":45985,"date":"2022-08-15T13:41:49","date_gmt":"2022-08-15T13:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/how-thomas-tuchels-chelsea-dominated-the-tactical-battle-of-the-bridge\/"},"modified":"2022-08-15T13:41:49","modified_gmt":"2022-08-15T13:41:49","slug":"how-thomas-tuchels-chelsea-dominated-the-tactical-battle-of-the-bridge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/how-thomas-tuchels-chelsea-dominated-the-tactical-battle-of-the-bridge\/","title":{"rendered":"How Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea dominated the tactical Battle of the Bridge"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A pulsating encounter between Chelsea and Tottenham at Stamford Bridge will be remembered for a late Spurs equalizer and a bust-up between the managers.<\/p>\n

What might be quickly forgotten is the nature of the game itself. Chelsea were the better side for most of it, with Thomas Tuchel getting the better of Antonio Conte in the tactical battle \u2014 twice.<\/p>\n

The key to the first half was the situation in midfield, where Mason Mount dropped in to find freedom between the lines, overloading Tottenham three-against-two in the centre.<\/p>\n

Perhaps we should have seen this coming. A common theme from Conte’s time at Tottenham is how aggressively the central midfield duo pushes up when the opposition have the ball \u2014 most notably away at Manchester City last season \u2014 while Tuchel regularly \u201cstaggers\u201d his midfield to make them difficult to press, as they look like something between a 3-4-3 and a 3-5-2.<\/p>\n

And that’s what happened \u2014 Conte used his usual 3-4-3, and Tottenham played as if Chelsea were also using a 3-4-3. So Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg pushed up onto Jorginho while Rodrigo Bentancur concentrated on N’Golo Kante. So far, so good.<\/p>\n

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Spurs’ issue, though, was Mount \u2014 who played as a No 8 rather than in a front three, and was constantly free to receive forward passes. Spurs only had two midfielders, so who would close him down? On this occasion, it was the right-sided centre-back, Cristian Romero.<\/p>\n

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But a centre-back can’t play in midfield permanently, and it was remarkable to see how much space Mount was afforded. A couple of minutes later, he’s in 20 yards of space in the middle of the pitch.<\/p>\n

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Here’s a similar example\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026and here’s the same thing again, calling for a pass from the right.<\/p>\n

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Chelsea sometimes struggled to switch the ball to him laterally but the space he had made vertical passes very easy. Here, Kalidou Koulibaly has the simple task of poking the ball through the lines into him \u2014 note Emerson Royal throwing his arms out, asking who is supposed to be closing down Mount.<\/p>\n

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Here’s a similar situation \u2014 note Hojbjerg gesturing towards the unmarked Mount\u2026<\/p>\n

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But Mount remained Romero’s responsibility. And, in fairness, there aren’t many Premier League centre-backs so happy to storm out of defense and close down high up the pitch.<\/p>\n

Here, from another Koulibaly forward pass, Romero charges in on Mount, and though he manages to dispossess him, he overruns the ball himself and Chelsea regain possession\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026which shows the danger of Romero being bypassed. Raheem Sterling drifts out to the space behind him, and Chelsea can break into space. Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s pass, however, is played a little behind his Chelsea team-mate.<\/p>\n

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And this was the common theme of Chelsea’s first-half display. Tactically, they were excellent. Technically, they were disappointing, with their passing preventing them from breaking at speed.<\/p>\n

Here’s another example. It’s the same thing again \u2014 Mount in space between the lines, and Koulibaly able to thread a simple ball to feet.<\/p>\n

But Koulibaly’s pass here is poor. He could have slid it gently into the gap between the two Tottenham players, allowing Mount to receive the ball on the turn and ease into attack in a central position. Instead, Koulibaly fires the ball into Mount, and it bounces up on him\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026 and as Mount receives the ball, you realise how effective a better pass might have been \u2014 Mount would have been running towards goal, with Romero pinned by Sterling. The defender would have been forced to make a quick decision, with Mount to confront but also Sterling, again, set to exploit the space behind him.<\/p>\n

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Mount, meanwhile, is too cautious in this situation, bringing the ball towards the left to work an overload, rather than seeking to cause Romero problems.<\/p>\n

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The final significant incident of the first half came when Mount received the ball in a central position and Eric Dier \u2014 in the middle of Spurs’ back three \u2014 pushes up the pitch to close him down.<\/p>\n

Mount plays the ball past him\u2026<\/p>\n

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\u2026 and as Chelsea attack down the right, and Dier sprints back into his defensive position, Mount again finds himself with huge freedom on the edge of the box. Again, this ball doesn’t come his way.<\/p>\n

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At half-time, Chelsea were 1-0 up thanks to Koulibaly’s stunning volley from a corner. But Spurs rally midway through the second half \u2014 Conte’s switch to 4-2-4 following the introduction of Richarlison provided more attacking threat and eventually brought the equalizer, via Hojbjerg.<\/p>\n

That formation change prompted a different type of tactical battle \u2014 and Tuchel surely got the better of this one, too.<\/p>\n

Now Spurs were playing a back four, Chelsea could now look to exploit them in the usual manner \u2014 use their wing-backs to provide overloads on the outside. And that’s seemingly why Tuchel decided to make a slightly complex change: bringing on Cesar Azpilicueta for Jorginho. This meant Loftus-Cheek moved from wing-back to central midfield while Reece James moved forward from right-sided centre-back to right wing-back.<\/p>\n

And, suddenly, James was the key player. Loftus-Cheek had carried the ball well out wide, but James offers far more composure and technical quality.<\/p>\n

Here, he storms down the outside to create a glorious chance for Kai Havertz who volleys wide from point-blank range\u2026<\/p>\n

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Two minutes later, he fired home what looked to be the winner. This is the classic goal you see when wing-backs are playing up against a back four, and the type of goal Chelsea used to score regularly under Conte.<\/p>\n

Chelsea gradually work the ball across the pitch until Spurs effectively run out of defenders, leaving James free at the far post to blast home\u2026<\/p>\n

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Conte ended up reverting to 3-4-3, perhaps afraid Chelsea would cause more problems down the flanks in the closing stages. That helped to hold back the tide, and eventually, a spell of Spurs pressure resulted in Harry Kane getting his head to a corner. James, the hero 15 minutes beforehand, was the Chelsea player who unwittingly helped the ball into his own net.<\/p>\n