Is The Chelsea Puzzle Complete?

One of the youngest, most exciting and promising sides in the Premier League this season, Chelsea, have shown everyone what it means to be one of the best in the business!

At the beginning of the season, just 1 out of 20 'pundits' had backed Chelsea to even be in the Top-4 and currently they sit in 4th position, just 1 point behind Leicester City. Lampard has instilled his love and passion for the club among his players and it clearly shows through their performances.

Chelsea has manifested the importance of believing in their philosophy, offensive mindedness, creativity in attack and promoting youth players to build for the future. This has proved as Lampard's masterstroke, delivering results now and projecting a stable future for the club.

But on the dark side of the moon, defensive lapses, consistent individual errors, over-committing to attack and negligence in rotating the squad has hurt Chelsea time and again during the season. It only goes on to show the obstacles yet to be faced for the coming seasons.

Although now, with new faces joining in and a couple more in the pipeline, is the Chelsea puzzle finally complete? Let's take a look....

Offensively, Chelsea has been the most exhilarating to watch. Attack, after attack, after attack and there's no stopping them. Most significantly, their ability to always play balls forward during transitions helps them get closer to goal, quicker.

Another attacking principle which proves 'hazard'ous for opponents, is that Chelsea uses all 3 corridors during transitions. This makes the opponent stretch while creating numerical superiority in the corridor with the ball.

When they win the ball in their own half, Chelsea usually tend to maintain possession in the same area where the ball is won. This attracts opponents to one side of the pitch, while exposing the opposite side. One quick switch, almost always, gives them the advantage and numerical as well as spatial superiority.

Also now, the likes of Willian and Pedro departing, let's see how Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech provide different dimensions, while still continuing Chelsea's playing style, to their attacking prowess.

Defensively, one highlight which is mostly exploited by deep-lying teams, is Chelsea's inability to track back swiftly during transitions. Over-committing while attacking and positional inadequacy to be ready for the next phase might just be the difference they need for a 10/10 performance.

Defending while sitting back and not pressuring the opponent does not suit Chelsea's game model. When they are forced to do it, they falter and give up opportunities which lead to clear goalscoring chances.

With a staggering 41% goals conceded out of 110 shots faced, he's not the GoalKepa any team would want between the sticks. With a lower goals conceded rate of 31% and an almost similar rate of saves 57% (Kepa 56%), Jamal Blackman would fit in well as he's back from his loan spell.

To sum up, offensively, Chelsea can be considered as one of the best sides in Europe next season. But defensively, a lot of work needs to be done. Only time will tell if Super Frankie Lampard gets the puzzle right, or will he still try to fit square pegs in round holes??

I hope you enjoyed my analysis and I'm eagerly looking forward to your invaluable feedback, suggestions and ideas. Do like, share and follow the page to show your love!

Football - Analysed!


(Video and Statistics Credits - WyScout.com)