How Chelsea's defenders have led their attack | Premier League 2021-22
In 12 games in the Premier League this season, Chelsea have conceded a mere four goals. At the other end, they have scored 30 - that's an average of 2.5 per game.
To score those 30 goals, Chelsea have had 15 different goalscorers. Three more players have provided only assists without scoring. That makes it 18 different players combining for 30 goals.
That might be surprising for a team that has Romelu Lukaku, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic, Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner. The quintet is expected to score bulk of their goals, but they have combined to score only eight thus far.
So where have most of their goals come from? Their defence. In fact, Chelsea's defenders have scored 13 times this season. That's miles ahead of any other team in the Premier League this campaign.
CENTER BACKS SCORING LIKE CENTRE FORWARDS. IT'S A CHELSEA THING. https://t.co/NqOyVhX63L
So that brings us to our next question:
How have Chelsea defenders scored goals galore this season?
Chelsea's defenders score a lot of goals because of the formation they play in. Thomas Tuchel has taken to playing three at the back all season, preferring the 3-4-2-1 in nine of 12 league games this campaign.
He started doing that last season itself, with The Blues switching from their 4-3-3 under Lampard to their current formation almost immediately. The personnel used were pretty much the same except for a few tweaks here and there.
For instance, Reece James was used as the right centre back initially, with Cesar Azpilicueta functioning as the right wing-back. This season, though, James has been moved to the free roaming wing-back position, which is a stroke of genius from Tuchel.
Azpilicueta might be a better defender than James, and there is no denying that. With him being the captain as well, Azpilicueta was impossible to replace at the back last season to give the defence some structure.
The Spaniard's attacking prowess comes mostly from crosses. However, they are not as threatening as James, which is understandable for a defender. It is simply that Reece James is a much more threatening player than Azpilicueta.
In the other wing-back position, Ben Chilwell has been a revelation. One has to be, to deny Marcos Alonso a starting place in the team, given how good the Spaniard is in attack.
However, the left-wing solution was the inverse of the right wing-back one. Tuchel swapped out Alonso for a player who is much more defensively sound, and maybe just a tad less offensively gifted.
At least that was the thought at the beginning. But Ben Chilwell has somehow delivered more attacking returns than Alonso used to. While James has four league goals this season, Chilwell has three to his name. In terms of assists, Chilwell has one to James' four.
Chilwell has also taken more shots (2.2 to 1.3) per game than James, while managing almost the same number of key passes. But how can Chelsea afford to have two wing-backs who produce an output comparable to that of wingers from other teams? How does the Blues' defence not get exposed every game, considering much their full-backs venture forward?
This is where Chelsea's three-man defence comes to the fore, or more importantly, the three men at the heart of the defence. That's because not every three-at-the-back defence is built the same way.
Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen, Trevor Chalobah and Azpilicueta have taken turns at the position. They have all been excellent at various times.
No one has played every game, but everyone has played 500 minutes or more. That proves the importance of the system over the individual. At times, the system has drawn its brilliance from the individual.
The likes of Rudiger and Silva are excellent in the air. Supplementing them with Christensen, Chalobah and Azpilicueta, who are exceptional in positioning to deal with ground passes, adds to the efficacy of Chelsea's defence.
Most clearances by a Chelsea player in a Premier League game this season:
โ 10 - Malang Sarr vs Brentford
Most interceptions by a Chelsea player in a Premier League game this season:
โ 6 - Malang Sarr vs Brentford
Baptism of fire. ๐ https://t.co/wbQGs0a3PL
Even Malang Sarr, who played only one game for Chelsea this season - against Brentford in a 0-1 win - proved just how effective this system under Tuchel is. He ended up topping all the defensive charts just from that single game. And why?
Like any good self-sufficient system that draws from itself, Chelsea's defence can afford to be that good because of the defensive midfielders up front. In Ngolo Kante and Jorginho, Chelsea have two of the best in the business. But as other teams have shown, the players alone are worthless unless they are used in a system they are suited to.
Because Jorginho is so good at playing as the regista, that is what Tuchel did. He plays in front of the three defenders, almost as a fourth defender. And Kante, whose strength is winning balls and tackles, plays up front with the attackers.
N'Golo Kante could be more useful in a defensive position just as easily, but this way Chelsea can cut down their attacking transition time. With Kante winning passes and immediately relaying them to Mason Mount, Chelsea can start counters much more quickly.
It's a system designed for maximum efficiency, designed around players who are comfortable in the roles allotted to them. All this has happened without Chelsea's attackers yet to fire on all cylinders.
After their 3-0 win over Leicester City, Thomas Tuchel expressed a desire to improve on the technical mistakes in the final third.
"I am happy but there is also room for improvement", said Tuchel. "The players got full praise after the match and they know when they did a full match. It's a huge effort we put into attacking and defending and I'm pleased the team got the win they deserved."
Tuchel is still somehow not totally satisfied with that: "There's still things to improve, technical mistakes in the last third.
But it was a confident performance and a mature performance." #CFC #LEICHE
That shows the desire of a team that is hungry to win, hungry to win big and never stop winning. A performance like that just after an international break shows a squad that is well drilled and disciplined.
Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea are insatiable. And as an ardent Chelsea fan, that is the most wonderful thing in the world.