Now that Chelsea have an almost full roster of players available, Mauricio Pochettino has some decision making to do in terms of his front 3.
When it comes to defensive contributions, some players are pulling their weight more than others, as this graphic from Sky Sports shows. It compares the distance run, the pressures and time spent walking for 6 players regularly used in our front 3.
You can see the stats in the image embedded here:
No dead weight can be carried
The data goes along pretty well with what we see on the pitch – Conor Gallagher pressing like a maniac, with Nicolas Jackson also putting a shift in.
Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke come next – they do just about enough, but contribute enough in attack to make up for it anyway.
Then Raheem Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk are miles off it, and need to work far harder. Neither of them deliver consistently enough in attack to justify even an average level, let alone to justify being bottom of the pile.
Earlier in the season Sterling was a regular for Pochettino, but his place in the pecking order quite notable dropped over the last few months. We would imagine this was heavily related to a lack of effort in defending from the front.
Madueke on the other hand was out in the cold for long periods, but his recent run in the team showed he can be productive going forward, and also that he can put a shift in when he feels like it.
With Gallagher and Jackson doing so much of the heavy lifting, the team can afford to carry Cole Palmer’s modest contribution given his output in terms of goals and assists.
But they certainly can’t afford another player in the team who isn’t going to do their part defensively, and while Mudryk’s price tag is keeping him in the team for now, it won’t work forever.
