Best half I can remember seeing us play. Should have been 4. This formation is creating problems for everyone. Players flying around. The play where Alonso crossed to the back post and then Moses volleyed off the post is the perfect example. The last Everton defender thought he had everyone covered and didn't realize there was another person to account for.
the turnaround has been incredible.. the confidence we're already playing with in the new system is the biggest shock to me, I guess that's just a tremendous credit to Conte but man I can't quite understand where it's come from
Watching this and MSU was about as binary an afternoon as you can have. Fucking incredible game though. Best game for Pedro as a Chelsea player? Matic and Kante were incredible. Still see it from Batshuyi too, just needs minutes. Zouma back soon! KTBFFH!
It's amazing. Everyone is always marked. There's almost always an outlet pass. Everything just seems...easy. Even during the title run a few years ago, there was a grind. This is different. Reminds me a bit of 2010 w/ more possession. Just battering decent teams.
What do you guys think we do in the winter transfer window? I don't see any big moves. I wonder if we push for a loan for a backup left or right wingback. It is such a difficult position to play. According to conte Pedro is the backup on the left and Ivanovic and aina on the right. Aina didn't play well in the EFL cup game against west ham but he was also played on the left side. I think he could do better on the right but he is not close to Moses going forward. Pedro has been a revelation of late (glad to admit I was wrong in righting him off) but does he defend well enough to protect hazard on the left? Conte mentioned Ivanovic but I can't imagine him playing wingback. Most important attribute is pace and he has none. Granted he wouldn't be as isolated on the wing as he is as a RB but no thanks. Who could we get? I have no idea on that. I would prefer we try and grab a LWB backup on loan (ideally recall baba who despite his defensive issues could at least provide cover for Alonso as a wingback) or buy someone if the right guy becomes available. On the right I think aina could fill in for a game or 2 but a real injury to Moses could kill our ability to play 3-4-3 and we would need to look for someone there as well. I don't see a reason to buy anywhere else. We could use an upgrade at backup CM but chalobah can do fine for this year. We can't afford to lose hazard to injury but no one we buy can change that. I always like to limit January spending and do none if possible. Some things to look at in the summer but if we can sell Ivanovic or cesc in January and use the proceeds to get cover at the wingback positions we will be better off and can look to upgrade positions during the summer. Obvious upgrade will be Christensen or zouma for Cahill. Playing well right now but that doesn't mean you can't upgrade over summer. Pedro has been good as has Willian over the past 2 seasons but that right wing/right forward in our new formation would be a great fit for Antoine greizmann. If we get back into the champions league and roman wants to make a splash and learn from the lessons of 2 seasons ago when we didn't add to a championship team I think that would be our best signing but that is more of a summer move.
Can Baba play wingback on the left? I'm not sure how he looks going forward and what he could bring offensively. Willian feels like odd man out. He fits closest in the Pedro and Moses roles but maybe this formation is just not good for him. I think the most glaring deficiency is when Cahill plays poorly. Maybe Zouma is the solution but ideally it seems you want someone who has plus ball skills. Hazard, Pedro, and Costa looked so good up top I don't think I would do anything. Kante and Matic have been good at distribution and Matic has been confidently going forward. We could def beef up our squad though.
Told y'all he is an incredible manager and leader :) Happy for Conte. Hope he gets the recognition he deserves. He built an absolute monster from nothing in Turin.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/foot...ts-new-blues-deal-despite-barcelona-interest/ Probably the funniest rumor I have seen in awhile. Barca interested in Ivanovic.
It pisses me off when people say that conte switched to his preferred 3-4-3. We are lining up a lot differently than he lined up at juve and Italy. He has almost always used 3 at the back but also 2 strikers. His Italy and juve teams, despite similar formations were set up a bit differently but Chelsea set up very differently. We have so many hybrid players that only great awareness from the players and tactical knowledge drilled in from the manager can make this successful. It reminds me of the NFL where a team sets up a slightly tweaked defense that is has all the right players for, they dominate and then teams try and copy it. In reality, the formation should be built to maximize the players not to fit the players into a certain system. I think he has done that. Any system that shores up the team defensively and gets the best out of hazard is a success and that is what he has done by using a 3-4-3 but allowing the wide attackers to line up more like inside forwards than wingers.
Starting XI: Thibaut Courtois | Gary Cahill (c), David Luiz, César Azpilicueta | Marcos Alonso, Nemanja Matić, N'Golo Kanté, Victor Moses | Eden Hazard, Diego Costa, Pedro Subs: Asmir Begović, Branislav Ivanović, John Terry, Nathaniel Chalobah, Cesc Fàbregas, Oscar, Michy Batshuayi Where is Willian?
Good half from Middlesbrough. We did a good job of battling though and got the goal. Need to get Moses more involved in the second half. Our formation creates different mismatches each week and that seems to be where the opportunities will come from
How has Pedro not scored? Really need a 2nd to put this one away. Moses finishing still leaves something to be desired.
Earlier this year I wasn't sure we'd see a clean sheet for the rest of the year. Now we've got 6 in a row.
Great game against a pretty decent defensive team. Could have had a few more but did the job. Games like that win titles.
Conte making sure they are ready as we head into the Christmas fixture logjam although our run of games looks far better than Liverpool and man city who both got kinda screwed.
Also all of the talk has been 3-4-3 and how well we have been playing since the switch (and rightfully so) but how important to those early season comebacks against west ham and watford look now? We didn't play well but found a way to get the max points from both of those games. People forget that batshuayi was instrumental in both of those wins. Just one of those distant memories that can be truly vital in a title challenge. The fact that Liverpool and arsenal outclassed us so badly also important because I think it allowed conte to sell roman on 3 at the back.
Just read that courtois' save against negredo in the 78th minute was the first shot on target that he had faced in 4 hours and 48 minutes. Holy fucking shit.
In terms of defense, I'm not sure how much is the formation and how much is getting Ivanovic off the damn field. He was awful for the better part of the last 18 months.
Very valid point but I think the formation gives assistance to Luiz and Cahill who are both prone to the one off error. Both had 1-2 plays against Middlesbrough that could have led to trouble but we had moved into more of a 5 man D by the time that happened and we recovered. If we ran a 4-3-3 with Luiz as a sole holding midfielder who dropped into central defense allowing the fullback to get forward more and the wingers tuck in our formation would look almost the same. Ivanovic on the bench is probably the biggest reason for the turnaround but the formation allows us to get the most out of hazard cutting inside, costa because he is closer to the wingers, matic and kante because they can get forward and Luiz/Cahill because they have more help. Your point is true though and one that is rarely brought up. Quite frankly I am happy people talk more about the positive but that certainly has been a big reason. You could say the same about cesc. Cesc and hazard on the field at the same time left the kind of open field that even kante couldn't fix.
So Alli motions asking for a card then falls down in a way that would've drawn all kinds of ire if Costa did it.......