Ughf, it’s still hard as an American sports fan to understand the concept of ties, but in some ways while Chelsea’s weekend draw with Southampton was depressing given how most of the game went, where the draw against Sevilla in the Champions League seemed like a win. These games both illustrated how the luxury of quality players can be maddening to a manager trying to find the best lineup, something those of us who play fantasy football can sympathize with. With all the new signings, both of these games indicated how experimental the first part of this season will be as Frank Lampard tries to play the matchups and find the best ways to win.
Each game started with the almost Death Lineup for Chelsea, however inexplicably, Christian Pulisic can’t manage to make it over to the left side. Many conspiratorial players believe Lampard’s favorite son Mason Mount caused this out of position play that ultimately seemed to dull the slashing sharpness that the front line of Time Werner, Kai Havertz and Pulisic can provide. With that trio dropping into defense positions largely in the Sevilla game, it somewhat makes sense that Mount fit in there somehow given that he’s probably a better defender than all three of them. Ideally, when Hakim Ziyech gets fully fit, he’ll start on that right side with Pulisic on the left, which could leave Mount out.
On Mount, his skills as a creator can’t be denied, however he doesn’t possess the passing awareness nearly the level of Pulisic, Havertz and Werner and it’s probably an experience thing more than anything else. He could really fit in somewhere in the midfield, with Havertz providing a more attacking role and his versatility could finally give the impetus for Chelsea to show Jorginho the door. In the Southampton game it was Jorginho that provided a gorgeous pass to Werner on the second goal and he continued that play as Chelsea pressed throughout the game. In the Sevilla game against a much more tight, offensively competent opponent Jorginho’s lack of defensive skills showed and throughout the second half of the Southampton as the Chelsea midfield broke down, eventually allowing three goals (yes, Kepa and Kurt Zouma were intimately involved in the second) I wondered whether that was a Mateo Kovacic game. After Jorginho received a yellow card against Sevilla, he was eventually subbed for Kovacic in the 65th minute. Instantly, the midfield seemed more robust with a more athletic Kovacic in there, who while often making boneheaded mistakes (though fuck Granit Xhaka for that FA Final Cup bullshit) can provide the kind of passing Jorginho does and also keep pace with more athletic midfield units. All to say, Mount should move into a more defensive midfield role; he obviously has a place on this team and Lampard seemed determined to shoehorn him in somewhere. His defensive skills along with his creativity need to be used somewhere else that’s not Pulisic’s space on the left side. Also, Timo Werner should only ever play in the center.
Reece James, despite being stapled in as the right back of the future for Chelsea (cause they had depth to give away shining Tariq Lamptey), hasn’t been wildly consistent this season. Lampard went with Cesar Azpilicueta against Southampton, but he couldn’t exactly keep pace as he has in the past with the offensive flow and interestingly, James came on late in the game for Pulisic in a midfield role. Southampton scored soon after to tie the game. With Azpilicueta’s clear disruption in the offense, James returned to his right back role in the Sevilla game, only to be targeted by the Sevilla attack and for the first time, I saw someone manhandle the NFL safety body of Reece James. Lucas Ocampos and the Sevilla attack pelted James’ side of the field throughout the game, so much so that when Ben Chilwell finally got on the ball, I hadn’t realized there was a Chelsea left back in the game, something after watching the past few years of this team, I never thought would happen. James mostly recovered though his first trademark cross didn’t come until the 40th minute. I think most people looked at James, especially with his recent England outings and form last season with Chelsea as a worthy challenger or second fiddle to England’s number one Trent Alexander-Arnold. Interestingly, where Alexander-Arnold lacks on the defensive end, James doesn’t and maybe one day James can be the sweetest right footed crosser for England. For now, the Southampton game was a wake-up for him in terms of consistency given his form before that and the Sevilla game, a splash of water in the face just after he’d woken up.
From a defensive standpoint, if the Sevilla game, along with the Crystal Palace outing earlier in the season, didn’t provide Lampard with the key to his back line and more specifically his back two, I don’t know what will. I cringe every time I see Andreas Christensen trot out there, because while he tries hard and occasionally it pays off, he’s so wildly inconsistent that while Kepa injects his own shakiness into his defenders, it’s not like Christensen or Antonio Rudiger aren’t returning the favor right back to Kepa. Kepa started against Southampton because Edouard Mendy was injured. Through the first half of the game, things seemed to be going well, but like an old dog with faulty bowels, you have to ask where the poo is with Kepa. He showed us by taking a giant dump with the second goal in the 57th minute. It probably was Zouma’s fault for giving him a shitty pass, however I’m not entirely convinced the Chelsea defenders believe an empty net would be better than Kepa. I’ve seen couples on the verge of divorce who want each other more than any Chelsea defender wants to interact with Kepa on the pitch. With Sevilla, Thiago Silva was back and despite Zouma’s meh performance against Southampton you get the feeling that Mendy and Silva provide so much psychological stability for the backs, midfield and attacking players. Zouma’s done everything asked of him and despite my yelling at him last season for being awkward as fuck on the pitch sometimes, his skill set with headers on corners, long passing and general effort make him indispensable on the back line. Couple that with a goalkeeper that inspires defender competence and you have Sevilla, that ate against Inter Milan two months ago, barely registering a shot. Back to puppies; a trained one can still feel so nervous that it takes dumps on carpets like the Chelsea backline whenever Kepa is in. Mendy provides such calming poise and defenders feel comfortable enough to focus on assignments rather than nervously waiting for an excuse to shit on the rug. Silva along with Chilwell and Mendy are the new guys back there this year and with such intense chaos in those positions over the past couple of years (wild ride there David Luiz), it really made my stomach comfortable to watch a stoic backline hold Sevilla to nothing.
When I started following soccer a few years ago, certain players around the leagues caught my eye. Whether it was Eden Hazard, the entire Dortmund team or Serge Gnabry, I glomed onto these constants as markers of my introduction to league soccer. Hakim Ziyech was also one of these players as I watched him dazzle all over that place with Ajaz and their tragic run to the Champions League semi finals. Fucking Spurs. So imagine my joy when Chelsea revealed they’d signed him as the first new add after the transfer ban lifted. Ziyech’s long summer training with the team, not being able to play, finally came to fruition with his sub during the Southampton game and we finally saw some magic in the Death lineup of Havertz, Werner, Pulisic and Ziyech. Of course Lampard didn’t entirely know where to put him and with Havertz just roaming, Ziyech still wasn’t sure exactly where he fit in. Against Sevilla, Ziyech came on in the 62nd minute and largely disappeared. He provided a little burst in the middle and you could see the inklings of a killer attack with him in there, but as both these games indicated, Lampard is still throwing things against the wall to see where they stick. Ziyech naturally holds up on the right side or on the right midfield of a 3-2-1-4 formation and with Kai Havertz roaming, Ziyech’s positional flexibility on the right side can provide the necessary partnership with Pulisic and service to Werner. With both these games, Lampard seemed to abandon his possession, work through the back line offense that lacked necessary punch against superior opponents. Sevilla dealt with a deeper defensive line, but Southampton took advantage of Chelsea’s upfield press and lack of defensive midfield depth. Ziyech figures to solve problems in the midfield on right side with Havertz picking up some of the defense slack and in my perfect world a deeper Mason Mount bolsters the midfield along with N’Golo Kante. Lampard, in his youth of managing, still needs to figure out how to properly matchup against the tactics of his opponents. It shouldn’t be this obvious to a HUGE novice that I am where players need to be. I know it’s early, I know there’s injuries and I know despite the two results that Chelsea feels like could have wins, that they ultimately got points, but Lampard needs to take a step back, stop trying to be cute with his formations, accept Mason Mount for who is and play to the positional strengths of his new and old players. I just don’t think it has to be this hard.
Bo's Gamut 