Chelsea's defensive conundrum

With Chelsea’s great start to the season, and the fantastic attacking displays from the likes of Hazard and Mata, it’s inevitable that some ‘muppet’ such as myself will bore on about the defence.

Chelsea’s three main centre backs consist of John Terry, Gary Cahill and David Luiz. My preference for the centre back partnership would be John Terry and Gary Cahill. However, injuries and off-field incidents will mean that Luiz will partner Cahill in future games.

Personally, I believe that David Luiz would be more effective in a holding midfield role. His positional play is lacking, and he has been exposed several times this season. This breeds a sense of nervousness to the rest of the back four and causes problems. Tackling is not the Brazilian’s strongest attribute either. He has been guilty of going off his feet and making rash challenges. I would question his temperament; opposition players have been able to wind him up, leading to several rash tackles in retaliation.

Gary Cahill is good with the ball at his feet, can pass it well out of defence, a great aerial presence, and chips in with goals every so often – A more solid, reliable option albeit with less interesting hair than his Brazilian team mate.

John Terry is the leader of this Chelsea team, and his presence is missed when he is not playing. He organises his back four and is a great communicator. However, he does lack pace and Cahill will need to compliment the skipper incredibly well to provide some stability to the defence.

Ivanovic is another central defensive option should injuries occur, and arguably, a more reliable figure at the back than Luiz. However, Chelsea would miss his dynamic play on the right flank, where he has also contributed with a few goals this season.

The importance of Mikel or Ramires to protect the defence is vital for the side. They need to keep hold of possession and nick the ball back off the opposition when they don’t have it. Mikel was guilty of not doing this early on in the season, but for sometime now, he has been exuding a sense of authority in the midfield for the Blues.

Chelsea’s attacking philosophy this season will ultimately lead them to leaking a few more goals, and the European Champions seem quite limited in terms of defensive options. This is definitely an area that Di Matteo may wish to strengthen in January.

No doubt the new attitude at Stamford Bridge is that ‘attack is the best form of defence’, and Di Matteo will want to find the right balance to maintain a title challenge this season.