After a close call against Swansea City on Sunday, Antonio Conte knows he has a bit of extra work to do as he prepares his Chelsea squad for their big match against Liverpool in their first Friday night match.
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The Blues drew 2-2 with the Welsh side, and their blushes were saved by Diego Costa, who scored a remarkable overhead kick to draw level with the Swans after a 1-0 lead quickly turned into a 2-1 deficit.
Sure, Francesco Guidolin’s side had a bit of help from the match official Andre Marriner. Leroy Fer’s goal shouldn’t have been allowed to stand as he fouled Gary Cahill to get possession. Yet Chelsea also have themselves to blame for not killing the game off early.
They did take 28 shots in the match and several chances were created. But as much as Conte’s attack has been potent over their four games, there’s something lacking in the middle. The Blues are second on the scoring charts with nine goals scored thus far, and a few more of those certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Conte’s tactics have proven quite effective as well. The midfield pairing of N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic has helped the team’s defenders, while attackers in Eden Hazard, Willian and Oscar have made Costa even better by creating space, as well as chances for the fiery Brazilian.
Oscar is working on both ends of the pitch as a box-to-box midfielder, and he looks a man reborn under the former Juventus boss, breaking up play while contributing to the offence without the burden of being a No.10 or a wide man.
Matic and Kante are doing their jobs quite well too. But perhaps Conte needs to rethink his strategy, especially with a tough string of matches coming up. So far, the Italian has stuck with Matic instead of Cesc Fabregas, and the Spaniard has only tasted 26 minutes of Premier League action, coming on as a late substitute against Swansea, as well as Watford two games prior.
In both instances, the former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder provided an instant spark. His insane long ball was responsible for Costa’s 88th-minute winner against the Hornets, and when he came on on Sunday, the improvement in play was apparent.
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Conte’s fielding of Matic is understandable. Having two holding midfielders to mop up in front of the defence is very beneficial, yet it takes away from the creativity in the team.
He’s concerned about Fabregas’ defending, and rightly so. The 29-year-old was sent off in a pre-season friendly vs Liverpool for a poor challenge on Ragnar Klavan, and has sunk down the pecking order since then, but what else can we expect from a creative midfielder.
His game has never been about defending. What he can do, is pick defences apart with his insane vision, pull strings in the midfield, and create chances for his teammates. That’s what he has always done, and that’s how he makes his money.
While Conte requires defensive output from his midfielders, it’s also fair to note that Fabregas doesn’t even need to defend that much as long as Kante is in the team.
During Chelsea’s title winning season, the combination of Fabregas and Matic in midfield worked wonders. The Spaniard would play as an attacker while Matic stayed behind as a screen, but he would do his bit in defence as well. It only stopped working when things went wrong behind the scenes at the club, and whatever that was eventually led to Jose Mourinho being fired.
Fabregas can perform a similar role with Kante in midfield, and it’s pretty obvious Kante is doing an even better job than Matic. That in itself frees Fabregas up to concentrate on creating chances, which would certainly overcompensate for any defensive foibles in the middle.
Admittedly, the midfielder isn’t suited to Conte’s dynamism. He doesn’t pressure or run at defenders, nor does he have a high success rate at winning the ball back. As mentioned before, he’s the one you call on when you need defences unlocked, but that’s what’s keeping him out of the team.
This Chelsea team, at present, has no problems unlocking defences or creating chances. The 28 shots against Swansea says as much. Their problem on Sunday was the inability to finish in front of goal. Costa for all his prolific play missed a chance to put his team up 2-0 from point-blank range in the first half.
Chelsea’s issues lie in killing games off and in defending, which leaves Fabregas fighting an uphill battle. However, more created chances can’t hurt, and the player has shown, in just 26 minutes, how much of a difference maker he can be. Conte needs to give him a full game, and the next one comes at the right time.
