Wow, what a week for Chelsea FC. Look, I haven’t been into soccer that long and I’ve been catching up, but from other sports, this run to the Champions League final seems super early for them. You can’t squander these windows though, especially with young teams or you’ll end up like the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier this decade, stacked with young talent that’s poorly managed. Luckily they don’t really have MVPs in soccer or Chelsea might be in a bad place by letting Mo Salah and Romelu Lukaku walk years ago. This year was always going to be an adjustment with all the new faces brought in and I’m quite patient, knowing that as much talent was brought in would necessitate a learning curve and comfort period where everyone got acclimated. It’s still not clicking from a top quality talent standpoint that Chelsea are capable of but against Real Madrid in both legs, the talent shone brightly like an exploding star, getting this team to a somewhat unlikely position for Champions League glory.
At this point, I want to focus on the players because this season has been so topsy turvy with guys falling in and out of favor, plus injuries, COVID and all the other shit that happens over these comically long soccer seasons. First and foremost, if people don’t know now, they will on May 29th, Mason Mount is one of the best players in the world right now. Time and again this season, when Chelsea dipped towards the end of Frank Lampard’s reign or we had a string of meh games under Tuchel, it was never Mount that showed any sort of give in his game, only elevation. Mount showed a lot of promise last year, his first in the Premier League, but still lacked the skills to be cohesive on offense and properly read the big picture on what unfolded on offensive possessions. That’s all out the window as the semi-finals showed where Tuchel trusted Mount as the anchor of the front line in both legs as well as their recent Premier League clashes. I said earlier in the year that Mount finally found a role as a midfielder, gifted with an unrelenting motor for chasing down the ball, never giving up and generally playing intelligent defense. He’s coupled that now with an offensive explosion under Tuchel in such a short amount of time, it’s remarkable and I think in 2022, the World Cup could be his ultimate showcase, maybe England’s entire team. Mount showcased this with his clinical finish of Christian Pulisic’s pass to seal Chelsea’s birth in the Champions League final, something I doubt Timo Werner would have finished. Somehow he’d have flubbled it. Mount unrelenting style has found its footing for Chelsea’s offense and I’m genuinely terrified for the next few years for their opponents because this guy has the potential to be the world’s best midfielder and finally it seems everyone else has caught on.
On another note, let’s talk about the Timo experience this season. Things started well, he put up some early numbers and looked sprightly and dangerous. Then the goal drought and the almost chances started and it’s clear at this point that Timo is still adjusting to both the Premier League and deeper runs than he got with RB Leipzig in the Champions League. He succeeded yesterday because despite all of his issues with finishes and just getting bitch slapped off the ball constantly, he’s stayed resilient. We can’t deny that Timo creates chances like crazy, he just hasn’t finished at the rate expected. I preach patience with this guy because his skill is there as he showed on a high level at Leipzig. I thought Sergio Ramos would eat Timo alive and while Timo squandered a fair bit through poor passing (a Rudiger miss would have put the Blues up 2-0 early) and just awful first touchees, it didn’t matter because he finished the easiest of chances to put them up 1-0 and in the drivers’ seat for this game. After watching Real Madrid a lot recently, I’m not sure how anyone scores on Thibaut Courtois, he’s so giant and so fast, he’s a fucking octopus in there. Now Timo only had to beat himself to score there, but against Fulham the danger he provided freed Kai Havertz up to score two goals, with Timo assisting on one of those goals. Despite his reputation for goals, Timo leads Chelsea in assists this season because of the danger factor and the positions he puts himself into each and every game. He’s still working on getting the right pace and for fucks sake staying onsides; defense is clearly better in the Premier League than the Bundesliga in terms of disciplined line play, but I’m happy he’s in there when he starts because I know he can create magic, just like he has to get this team where it is.
My favorite Chelsea player is N’Golo Kante. I first encountered him dominating the World Cup along with Paul Pogba and while Eden Hazard initially drew me to Chelsea fandom, Kante, just like he plays, made me stay. He’s consistently the hardest working player on the field whenever he’s in there, even as he deals with injuries consistently. Kante does every little thing that supports the success of this team with his unselfishness, defensive effort and as yesterday showed, just the right amount of offensive skills to support the forwards finding success. Kante’s relentlessness led to that Mount goal because he contested a header at midfield behind the midline in his own half which then bounced to Cesar Azpilicueta, then to Ramos who headed the ball to the surging Kante who in a matter of seconds went from holding midfielder to offensive spark leading an attack, getting the ball to Pulisic who found Mount for the second goal. I coach kid’s sports and there’s nothing better than the kid who knows how to work on every single play and Kante is the Platonic dream form of that type of athlete. I know the forwards must have to kiss his feet at the end of every game but so does Edouard Mendy and every member of the backline because he’s the ultimate teammate and garbage disposal, taking every piece of shit a team like Real Madrid throws at him and using the spinning blades of his motor to slice through offensive gameplans. Chelsea played a generational midfield yesterday in Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Casemiro. They looked old and while Casemiro isn’t that old, Kante looked more youthful than his fellow 30 somethings in Kroos and Modric. Those two have been brilliant again this season, but were no match for Kante’s fountain of youth. I can’t say Kante’s success was unseen under Tuchel, I think coaches love him and he’d succeed everywhere, but Tuchel’s given all his players a freedom to do what they can best (much like a certain coach here in New England where I am) and Kante, with his skills and maturity has taken better to this than probably anyone else other than maybe Mount. Heard some Ballon d’Or talk kicking around Kante and regardless how the final goes, these back to back performances could put him into contention.
I’ve always viewed Jorginho as a somewhat expendable part of this team because of his athletic limitations compared to his teammates, but also because I’m not sure what he does at times, especially when he fades in and out games, almost caught between deciding whether or not he’s going to showcase himself or not. He shined in both semi final matches with the best of himself even on defense where every challenge seems like a No, No, NO…YES situation. This guy played lights out over the past week, even taking on the very in form Karim Benzema, who’s an athletic freak and doesn’t get the credit he deserves. With Mateo Kovacic out on injury, Tuchel relied on Jorginho to anchor the midfield to allow Kante to roam and he executed flawlessly. It’s surprising because Jorginho’s at his best quarterbacking the midfield and sending delightful long balls forward (if Timo Werner could stay onside, Jorginho would have like ten assists this season). Tuchel asked him to play as a primary defender against Real Madrid so he could unleash holy hell from Kante and Jorginho stood strong. A few weeks ago, he put on one of the worst performances I’ve ever seen in professional sports against an athletic front line in West Bromwich Albion, causing both of Thiago Silva’s yellow cards and somehow escaping blame. Against the albeit aging Real Madrid, Jorginho could keep pace and made everything much more difficult in the center for Madrid, forcing the wings to make something happen or Modric or Kroos to create, which they couldn’t execute against the backline wall. For a player on the outs under Lampard, born anew with a better defined list of responsibilities, he’s responded so well and while I’d be happier seeing a healthy Kovacic against Manchester City in the final, I know we won’t be lost with Jorginho in there.
Another player that Tuchel rose from the dead is Antonio Rudiger. The rangy defender found himself on the outs under Lampard for unknown reasons, though they may have been Kepa related, but has emerged as a mainstay on this Chelsea backline that’s stouter than a fat pig. Rudiger’s athleticism was never in doubt but he struggled so much dealing with Kepa as I believe all the defenders did, having their confidence always on edge, knowing their goalkeeper had little to offer them if they were beat. It’s very demoralizing to have a bad goalie because you can’t rely on anyone but yourself as a defender so I get why he looked shaky at times late last season, leading to his freeze out from Lampard. With Mendy in goal and a newfound freedom to make blazing runs forward, Rudiger’s prowess has been fully realized and his true abilities can breathe. One of the most striking plays against Real was his outside shot, something I enjoy when it happens because Chelsea can be accused of being too careful in offensive buildup under both Lampard and Tuchel. Rudiger took a long ball, put some nasty shit on it and forced a rare rebound opportunity from Courtois. It’s bad enough for opponents to deal with the wings and their offensive abilities, but to also have to handle Rudiger’s offensive pace, while not getting any shit by him on defense has to be demoralizing. I’ve also noticed how much better his confidence has gotten in possession with Mendy in there. The skill involved with Chelsea’s playing out of the back game is at a peak that I haven’t seen from any of the better teams in Europe, especially as Mendy’s gotten more comfortable with the ball at his feet and Rudiger’s presence and involvement in that strategy has been crucial. Discipline and athletic ability seem to be the calling cards of effective defensive possession and Rudiger lacks for nothing in either of those categories, where again Tuchel pinpointed what he does well and adapted the system to fit that skill set to unbelievable results.
Finally, let’s talk Pulisic. It’s been a rough year. Somehow Pulisic has avoided the scrutiny of Werner and Havertz given his lack of offensive numbers and it’s likely because he didn’t cost as much as those guys despite flashing last season as potentially the most in form Premier League player. Pulisic has picked up his game in the past few weeks and provided the extra punch Chelsea needed to get to the Champions League final, with incredible patience with his goal last week and this week’s indelible assist. He looks comfortable for the first time this season in the past few weeks, allowed to be a hazardous flint for the offense, capable of such decisive action. Kai Havertz still looks casual at times, not realizing everyone around him possesses similar talent and Timo can’t finish so Pulisic’s poise has been vital to the team’s advancement to the final. It’s such a new experience seeing an American as the focal point often in such important games for a big club and Pulisic seems so calm with his touch especially on display when he put Thibault on skids with that patience before finding Mount for the final sealing goal. Much was made of Eden Hazard’s return to Stamford Bridge, but he offered little in Real Madrid’s attack as he still recovers from injury and you really get the sense that while Pulisic get’s unfairly compared to Hazard, he and Mount at least could form a similarly skilled dynamic duo for years to come. I have to mention how big this moment was for US soccer internationally because Pulisic like Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey before him is a beacon of American players finally making it onto soccer’s biggest stages and he’s already at 22 surpassed anything either of those guys did. I remember watching the World Cup in 2006 and it being so clear that the US team played differently and wrong compared to their European, African and South American counterparts. Now, the MLS players barely have a chance of making competitive national team play and a lot of that comes down to Pulisic, who’s profile after this game regardless of what happens in the final did so much the perception of American players abroad even as a glut of US players have flood big clubs all over Europe in the past year. I found out that an obscure American player in the 90s won the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund, though he wasn’t even on the bench and barely played for the club at all. Now, Pulisic enters the game as one of the most in form players for a giant club, poised to have a giant impact and hell even if they lose, fellow American Zach Steffen will get the win as the backup goalkeeper for Manchester City. Who knows, next year’s final could feature Weston McKennie and Sergino Dest, facing each other like they did in the group stage or maybe Dortmund holds onto Erling Haaland and we see Gio Reyna in the final, or Kris Richards with Bayern, either way, Pulisic really jumpstarted this growth and I’m real excited for where it all lands come 2022 with so much high level European experience for this American team, though right now, I’m hoping Chelsea pull off a crazy feat and win the final in the weirdest of seasons.
Bo's Gamut 