Chelsea set a record low in yesterday's high-scoring 4-3 win over Brighton & Hove Albion, possessing the ball just 25 per cent of the time. Apparently, it's our lowest recorded possession stat in a Premier League game, since such things started to be counted in 2003-04.
Opta's one-word tag at the end of their tweet was "methodology", which might imply that this will be a common thing for the Blues under Xabi Alonso. We lost the possession battle last Monday, too, against Fulham, though that was a bit more even, at a roughly 40-60 split. But Alonso disagrees with the notion that this is part of any sort of overriding tactical approach. Instead, it's just one of the tools in our shed (end), ready to be deployed when the game, or situations in a game, call for it.
The overriding philosophy instead is one that harkens back to the previous era of Chelsea Football Club.
"I want to win, whatever it takes to win and each game can be different so we need to prepare for the best, we need to train for the best and be prepared for whatever scenario we have."
In an age when practically every top team wants to play possession-based high-pressing football that struggles against compact low blocks with endlessly boring u-shape passing around the box, it's been quite refreshing to see Chelsea go more direct. Turns out, you can pass forward whenever you want! And you probably should! And you also don't need to play it short from a goal kick either just to invite all the pressure; you can simply bypass all that and boot it up to your complete striker to knock it down or create for himself. Football doesn't have to be complicated: if you can be faster and stronger than the other guy, you already have an advantage.
#Chelsea #instead
Opta's one-word tag at the end of their tweet was "methodology", which might imply that this will be a common thing for the Blues under Xabi Alonso. We lost the possession battle last Monday, too, against Fulham, though that was a bit more even, at a roughly 40-60 split. But Alonso disagrees with the notion that this is part of any sort of overriding tactical approach. Instead, it's just one of the tools in our shed (end), ready to be deployed when the game, or situations in a game, call for it.
The overriding philosophy instead is one that harkens back to the previous era of Chelsea Football Club.
"I want to win, whatever it takes to win and each game can be different so we need to prepare for the best, we need to train for the best and be prepared for whatever scenario we have."
In an age when practically every top team wants to play possession-based high-pressing football that struggles against compact low blocks with endlessly boring u-shape passing around the box, it's been quite refreshing to see Chelsea go more direct. Turns out, you can pass forward whenever you want! And you probably should! And you also don't need to play it short from a goal kick either just to invite all the pressure; you can simply bypass all that and boot it up to your complete striker to knock it down or create for himself. Football doesn't have to be complicated: if you can be faster and stronger than the other guy, you already have an advantage.
#Chelsea #instead
18 hours ago
