New Delhi: Chelsea struggled to maintain consistency and a dominant prowess in the 2023-24 season. They were 6th in the Premier League, runners-up in the EFL Cup, and semifinalists in the FA Cup. They failed to bring home a single silverware and looked out of the place at the start of the season.
Playing their season under new coach Mauricio Pochetinno, Chelsea’s performance by stats does point that their campaign finished stronger than it had started. Plus, Chelsea picked up their pace much later in the season. They were late to catch the tempo of the season and things would have been in their favour had they played well in the initial stages of the season. Having scored 77 goals in the tournament, they conceded 63 in return, which could be seen as the reason for their inability to put pressure on the opponents.
Pochettino wasn’t immediately a fan favourite and struggled during the first half of the season with injuries and wasn’t showing any signs of improvement from their previous season in the Premier League. On top of this, the Argentine coach had denied the services of key players like Reece James and their forward Christopher Nkunku for a large part of the season. The turnaround came after their 4-2 home loss to Wolves in February. From here, the team looked much more determined to win at every chance they had and looked a much more confident outfit overall.
As they enter the new season, they will start on the back of rather disappointing matches during the friendlies. They weren’t impressive against Man City to whom they lost 4-1. When they start their campaign against Man City, they will be aware of their shortcomings and will hope they can counter the reigning champions and hope that under new manager Enzo Maresca, they will have better results.
Chelsea’s Tactical Prospects for the 2024-25
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – AUGUST 06: Enzo Maresca, Manager of Chelsea reacts during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Real Madrid and Chelsea at Bank of America Stadium on August 06, 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)
Chelsea were unimpressive in the friendlies, with only one win against Club America throughout. They lost 4-1 to Celtics and 2-1 to Real Madrid. Their tactics haven’t really brought them any results, and they must make a quick turnaround with the Premier League opponents not making life easy for The Blues.
What Pochettino did give to the team during his one-season tenure was an attack that, in recent times, has become underwhelming. They had the fifth most prolific attack of the season. However, their brilliant attack meant their defence had suffered greatly. Of course Chelsea’s new manager Enzo Maresca is much different to his predecessor in terms of tactics. He is closer to Pep Guardiola’s technique preference, having worked under him in Man City in two different stints over four years. His tactics do not mean he will need defenders at his service to structure the backline according to the situation of the game.
Maresca’s favourite formation as Leicester City manager was 4-3-3. However, during most of the Championship matches, they were structured in a 3-2-4-1 shape. Chelsea could be seen in a similar formation to Leicester City, which would mean that full-backs will no longer be making attacking threats. The setup will involve one staying back and being part of the three-man while the other pushes in the central midfield. There are signs that the left-back in the club might play inverted into the midfield.
Marc Cucurella has shown that kind of flexibility, though it is likely that Reece James will be in that role with his amazing close control despite building on from a season full of injuries. Malo Gusto has struggled as well and played as a left thrice. Levi Colwill has also been tried in the role with Cucurella still in recovery. If the three man defence is pressed by opponents, even the goalkeeper is preferred as a free man in the back by Maresca
The middle defender is quite a key player in Maresca’s defence and will be a no.9 dropping deep. It is Benoit Badiashile who is the closest who can replicate the role with his tactical smartness. It is Christopher Nkunku who will be one of Maresca’s key player after the 26 year-old featured 398 minutes in their USA tour, which was most in his squad. Provided he stays fit, he will be crucial in the Chelsea game plan.
It is though clear that Chelsea players do need to quickly adapt to the game plan of the manager which is more of slow-paced, possession based style of football. This has let their opponents to put pressure on Chelsea, who were playing out from the back. The 12 goals actually conceded in the tour were dure mistakes playing out from the back. The players also were often playing a very defensive line without pressing, which Maresca believes is a tactics of the previous year. Their other plans that were witnessed in the US soil was underlapping full-backs, man-to-man marking and two high number eight who were in the area of a five-man attack. The high in risk and reward tactics if works for Chelsea will help the club to be with a better result in the leagues.
Transfer analysis
ATLANTA, GA JULY 31: Chelsea midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (22) reacts during the friendly between Chelsea FC and Club America on July 31st, 2024 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Chelsea completed a successful signing of midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall which was highly anticipated. He is coming from Leicester and is familiar with Maresca’s working style. The midfielder had an incredible last season with his side scoring 12 times and making 15 assists from 49 appearances across all seasons.
They have also added Danish goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen who had a great season with Villarreal last season with six clean sheets from 37 appearances. Chelsea have signed talented players like Marc Guig, Caleb Wiley, Omari Kellyman and Renato Veiga as a long-term stays. They were also able to get Tosin Adarabioyo at the start of the summer as a free agent. They have signed young players this summer with three players below the age of 21.
They have had a few big departures including academy products Ian Maatsen and Lewis Hall to Aston Villa and Newcastle united. They generated a deal of around €78 million. Perhaps the biggest departure was of veteran defender Thiago Silva who left as a free agent after four years with the team. Chelsea also saw the back of Omari Hutchinson to Ipswish Town having enjoyed a succesful stint with side on loan last season. Hakim Ziyech and Malang Sarr too left the club as free agent.
Early prediction: A UEFA Champions League qualification
Chelsea will hope that their new boss Maresca will show progress in the side’s performance. They have signed the 44-year-old for five years and his first job will be to help the club qualify for the Champions League which they missed last season by just six points. Maresca’s primary job will be to show progress, win cup competitions, improve players and hopefully create a pool of players so that injuries doesn’t become an issue to the game plans.
After a disappointing two seasons, Chelsea look a revamped team under new manager on paper. But can they embrace the tactical changes brought in the club. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
