Chelsea left it late once again for the second time in a week, downing Watford 2-1 at Vicarage Road. The Hornets took a 1-0 advantage early in the second half due to midfielder Étienne Capoue’s tidy finish, but substitute Michy Batshuayi equalized for the former Premier League winners roughly 20 minutes later. Diego Costa completed the comeback for the Blues after a lovely-weighted ball by Cesc Fábregas found his Spanish compatriot, who tucked it under Heurelho Gomes.
Tactical alterations proved key for Chelsea in the second half, as they switched to a 4-4-2 after Antonio Conte introduced the trio of Moses, Batshuayi and Fábregas in separate junctures during the latter stages of the contest. Here’s a look at how it went tactically.
Lineups
Antonio Conte only made one change from the 2-1 win over West Ham at Stamford Bridge, with Pedro coming in for the injured Willian. As for Watford, Walter Mazzarri chose an unchanged side from the 1-1 draw against Southampton last Saturday for the visit of Chelsea, with the Hornets lining up in a 3-5-2.
Both sides lack creativity but very solid in midfield; Fábregas then makes the difference for Chelsea
Chelsea had a great deal of possession, almost two-thirds, but zero opportunities at goal materialised from central positions in the first 70-75 minutes until Conte threw caution to the wind as Watford soaked up pressure and defended in a low block. The Hornets had two good chances in the first half but they both stemmed from wide positions. The lack of creativity in midfield all game was for two reasons.
One, there is a distinct lack of a creator in either midfield. Two, both sides were very conservative in the middle of the park: Watford’s Valon Behrami and Nordin Adlène Guédioura anchored brilliantly and always got close to the Chelsea players as Etienne Capoue marauded forward on occasions, but was disciplined. Nemanja Matić, N’Golo Kanté and Oscar aren’t the most creative players and rarely looked for penetrative passes through Walter Mazzarri’s compact 3-5-2 shape, and instead cautiously played short passes to the defenders or the wingers or just simply spread the ball amongst themselves in midfield. As a result, that area of the pitch was neutralised as both sides focuses on the flanks. Only 26% of our attacks were in the middle zone and only 22% of Watford’s were.
In Cesc Fábregas’ little 15 minute cameo, he only attempted one less pass than Matić did in 75 in the final third. Importantly, 6 of the 10 that he completed were forward passes. 4 of Matić’s 10 he succeeded in were forward passes. N’Golo Kanté didn’t misplace a single pass in the attacking third but the majority of his passes were short, indicative of the lack of killer balls that were attempted by the starting midfield.
Chelsea continue to overload the flanks
Conte implemented a 4-2-4 in possession where the two wide midfielders, mostly Willian and Moses, would play as traditional wingers, receiving the ball (probably more than any other Chelsea player) with just one objective in mind—beating the full-back and swinging in a cross from the byline. The full-backs were also heavily involved, and would also go on occasional forays down their respective flanks.
Of course, Chelsea no longer play 4-2-4, Eden Hazard on the left prefers to move into channels or play as an inside winger, but that didn’t stop Conte from ordering his side to predominately play through the wings at Stamford Bridge against West Ham United, and Watford was no different. Hazard was involved in most of our attacks at Vicarage Road, always on the ball, and had the most shots (4), most shots on target (2), most chances created (3), most take-ons (5), most touches (101), most attacking third passes (31) and the most passes (66). 74% of our attacks come down either flank against the Hornets.
These position and passing networks (by the great @11tegen11 on Twitter) for Chelsea’s first two Premier League games illustrates how wide-orientated the Blues have been under Conte:
As I mentioned, the full-backs have been a lot more adventurous than they have in past seasons and a lot more involved in overall play. Only Eden Hazard received the ball more times than Branislav Ivanović on Saturday. Only Hazard had more touches than the Serbian. Left-back Cesar Azpilicueta has been criticised for his lack of attacking mindedness over the past couple of years but has looked more audacious than usual under Conte.
Costa an isolated figure once again
Diego Costa once again proved the decisive factor for Chelsea but just like Monday night, he was a very isolated figure up front.
Costa only received 29 passes from his teammates, the least of any outfield player in Chelsea’s starting XI, and only completed one in the attacking third, which is symptomatic of the lack of support he got during the entire game. Only Hazard made more than five passes to the Spaniard, with 8.
Consequently, Costa was forced to either drop deep or drift wide in order to receive the ball. Only three of the 29 he received were inside the 18-yard-box; 12 were in the middle third and 12 of the 14 passes he actually made were in that zone of the pitch.
It’s now clear that Costa needs Michy Batshuayi alongside him in attack.
