After the departure of two time player of the year and number 10 for two and a half seasons Juan Mata in January Chelsea have switched about with a couple of different players in the number 10 role and are still to decide who will make that position their own for the rest of this season and more importantly for next season.
With Brazlian Oscar having a great season up until January and keeping Spaniard Mata out of the team the Spaniard left. Since then Oscars form has dramatically dipped, possibly due to the lack of competition that he felt from Mata prior to his departure.
After a few games of the season Oscar quickly established himself as one of Mourinho’s favourites in the side and with the confidence he got from his manager Oscar began to shine in the number 10 role. Preferred to the likes of Mata because he would track back and help when Chelsea were on the back foot as well as be able to create a piece of magic, albeit compared to Mata probably not as often however with JoseÂ’s style of play and the way he sets his teams up Oscar was always going to be the player picked first out of the two.
As mentioned before though after the departure of Mata, OscarÂ’s form as dipped resulting in Mourinho giving other players a chance in the number 10 position such as Hazard and Willian with the latter of the two arguably performing the best there however the three playing together is a nightmare for any team as they can change positions to manipulate any defence. Hazard is best on the wings where he can pull the defence apart so that leaves Oscar and Willian to fight it out for the number 10 position.
Oscar v Willian
Apperances: 31 v 22
Minutes played: 1986 v 1466
Goals: 8 v 3
Total Shots: 59 v 37
Shot Acc %: 44 v 46
Successful Passes: 941 v 714
Pass Acc %: 83 v 85
Key Passes: 41 v 47
Fouls Committed: 30 v 23
Fouls Suffered: 22 v 18
Tackles: 48(51%) v 32 (52%)
Take ons: 23 (39%) v 31 (53%)
Aerial: 20 (28%) v 6 (26%)
=Duels: 113 v 87
Interceptions: 7 v 16
Clearances 27 v 8
Total= 34 v 24
Cards: 4 v 5
From the stats above Oscar just beats his fellow Brazilian however it is fine margins between the two and Oscar has played 9 matches more than Willian, both have their own strengths and weaknesses but with Oscar doing better defensively would it be worth playing him more in the pivot position alongside Mati? and giving Willian the number 10 position where he has the freedom to track back and help if needed and also create and score more often? The two players could also swap positions during the game if needed to mix the game up a bit.
With 4 league games and potentially 3 Champions League games it will certainly be interesting to see who plays more as a number 10 as the season comes to an end and also who will make the position their own next season.
(Stats via http://www.squawka.com) Accurate as of 17 april 2014
