As the final whistle blew up on Wearside and a chorus of appreciation rang out from the Sunderland faithful, I slumped back in my chair with a feeling of deep resignation. To me, the result on Saturday was two points dropped as opposed to one point gained and I couldn’t help but feel agitated by Chelsea’s failure to penetrate Gus Poyet’s defensive wall. After our impressive dismantling of Schalke, I expected more from us, an attempt to kill the game early to save tired legs. Mourinho’s presser was the most interesting; he commended Sunderland on their defensive efforts which, in Special One lingo, translates as a veiled criticism of our offensive failures. Having re-watched the game, I spotted a few things that I thought were worth bringing up.
How to deal with two banks of four
Chelsea have done it time and time again this season and I saw no reason pre-game why we wouldn’t repeat ourselves. Teams set themselves up to stifle our intricate movement but then leave themselves open to the directness of Costa. In many respects, Chelsea are like a swiss army knife; if one section doesn’t do the job then you can bet a decent amount of money that the other will. So, why didn’t it work against Sunderland? The first thing I noticed on Saturday was our lack of width. As pointed out in post-match analysis on SNF, we directed our play through the middle of the park. Big mistake. In John O’Shea and Wes Brown, Poyet has two experienced defensive marshals who have dealt with the likes of Costa before. Lee Cattermole acted as a sort of Matic-esque figure, sweeping and intercepting in front of the back four. To stretch a tight line, you need to move wide with the ball. I would almost put forward the case that Filipe Luis should have started this game; his attacking instinct and excellent delivery would have been key in such a game. As it were, we didn’t move wide and I saw very little from Ivanovic, aside from his effort in the first half, and Azpilicueta in terms of supporting our flanks.
Fabre-gas
My Dad often sits in front of the TV, screaming his lungs out watching Chelsea. Do you know which area of the pitch he chooses to unleash said verbal torrent of abuse most often? About five yards short of the opposition penalty area. His favourite catch-phrases are ‘too slow’ and ‘we’ll never score like this’. Usually, I’ll tell him to shut up and have another beer but, on Saturday, I think those sorts of comments would have been exactly what we needed. We play beautiful, often mesmerising football; stroking the ball around in the final third with consummate ease. But keep-ball doesn’t win games. We seemed to be missing something on Saturday, an energy, movement from an advanced position. I saw several opportunities to exploit space behind the back four, particularly in the first half, but we weren’t moving the ball quick enough. The only real passage of play where we shifted across the park almost resulted in a goal and represented our best chance. I’d say we would have benefited from a Schurrle type of player; the sort of guy who’ll make the runs in behind the defence. A direct type, some may say. I’ve chosen Fabregas to highlight and I’m sure some of you may disagree. Criticise the golden boy? How dare you. But, if you watched Fabregas on Saturday, then you’ll have noticed a distinct lack of incisiveness from the little magician. Don’t get me wrong, his radar is second to none [That threaded ball for Costa was a stroke of genius] and his spray of passing is always impressive. But he just seemed to lack a little bit of intensity on Saturday; he wasn’t picking the ball up and moving forward. Instead, he seemed to be stuck on a broken record of sideways motion. There have been whispers of the Cesc trend, whereby he loses form in the second half of the season. I don’t believe that for one second but I have often wondered if he’d be better utilised in a more advanced position.
No Hazard warnings for Poyet
The last time Eden Hazard played at the Stadium of Light in the Premier League, he was the main provider of illumination on an otherwise dreary night. The Belgium scythed Sunderland apart with a mesmerising display of skill, power, tenacity and ruthlessness.
The Hazard I watched on Saturday was a shadow of his former self, a tired, frustrated kid left out to dry. I’m not criticising Hazard for his performances this season; he’s been electrifying in most of our fixtures. But he looked tired on Saturday and I’d also say he looked a little weary against Schalke too. He’s the undroppable super-star for Mourinho and I understand that to an extent. But, with the play orientating itself around the middle of the park, Hazard found himself drawn further and further in and, when that happens, he loses a lot of effectiveness. His greatest asset is his ability to go past people; one on one, two on one. When he’s faced with eight large bodies compressed into a small area, he struggles. It goes back to our lack of width but both Eden and Willian looked a little short of their best on Saturday night.
The dark side
So, Costa is an animal. Yup. We know that. Watch literally fifteen minutes of his football and you’ll see his aggression in abundance. So far, that has worked in our favour. He’s bullied defenders into submission but what happens when defenders bully him? We saw an example of this against Sunderland; his wind-up methods are turned against him. Costa should have seen red for his kick out at O’Shea in the first half and that’s where the dark side of the Brazilian turned Spaniard comes in; he’s a liability when things aren’t going his way. I know he’s always capable of scoring and he thrives on the emotional edge but it is a risky ploy and one which Mourinho needs to ensure is kept under control.
I know this analysis is a little late but I’ve been mulling it over for a few days. Against Tottenham, it’ll be a different story. They aren’t quite as physically strong and they are very much hit and miss; if the wrong Tottenham turn up then we’ll hammer them 4-0 again. Tomorrow night will make for an interesting encounter, particularly in the absence of Costa. I hope Remy starts as I think he’ll cause them problems.
What do you think was missing on Saturday? Is the result an issue in light of Manchester City’s win at Southampton?
Up The Blues!
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