EPL

Chelsea wing king James leading Tuchel's title challenge

By Sports Desk November 26, 2021

In the final weeks of his ultimately ill-fated Manchester United tenure, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took to tweaking his system, switching to a back three against better teams in a bid to bolster a shaky defence.

Michael Carrick would be best advised not to follow suit when he takes United to Chelsea on Sunday.

Five Premier League opponents have lined up against Chelsea this season with three centre-backs – a system popularised in England by former coach Antonio Conte which the European champions have again made their own under Thomas Tuchel.

In those five meetings, in which inferior sides have sought to match up with Tuchel's men, Chelsea have won on each occasion, scoring 17 and conceding none.

Their rare slip-ups – 1-1 draws with Liverpool and Burnley, along with a 1-0 defeat to Manchester City – have come when Chelsea have been challenged by something different.

None of the Blues' rivals can name the same combination of quality, composure, experience and athleticism in a defensive trio. Meanwhile, N'Golo Kante, ably supported by Jorginho and – before injury – Mateo Kovacic, mans the midfield with enough energy to make up for any deficit in numbers.

But the real stars of this Chelsea side, especially with forwards Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner kept on the sidelines, have been the wing-backs.

Trumping Trent

It feels a little like the year of the full-back in the Premier League. Mohamed Salah is attempting to combat that, making their lives a misery, but Trent Alexander-Arnold is excelling again behind him at Liverpool while Joao Cancelo has seemingly assumed many of Kevin De Bruyne's creative responsibilities for Manchester City.

Among nominal defenders in the top flight, those two rank first and second for direct shot involvements: 54 for Alexander-Arnold (20 shots, 34 chances created) and 39 for Cancelo (27 shots, 12 chances created). However, when it comes to direct goal involvements, neither can match Reece James' eight (four goals, four assists).

James is third behind that pair for shot involvements (29 – 12 shots, 17 chances created), among four Chelsea defenders in the top nine; Antonio Rudiger, one of the others, is the only centre-back in that group.

Indeed, Chelsea also account for four of the six Premier League defenders to have scored multiple goals this term, including the only two to net three or more: James and Ben Chilwell, attacking from either flank.

England team-mates James and Chilwell are considered Chelsea's regular starting options out wide but have only actually started four league games together this season – the past four games. That number is not now set to increase any time soon either, after the left-back was injured against Juventus in midweek.

"It worries me because [Chilwell] was in such a fantastic moment – like Reece on the other side," Tuchel said. "They were in the best shape they could possibly be, so strong and so confident and with such a lot of quality."

Yet the loss of Chilwell may not necessarily be felt quite as keenly as his coach might fear; Marcos Alonso, who has matched his team-mate's 23 shot involvements in 2021-22, has twice been the Premier League's top-scoring defender (six in 2016-17, seven in 2017-18). Against United, he is a like-for-like replacement in this system.

Attack, attack, attack

Alonso was among the chief beneficiaries when Conte moved away from a back four in 2016, just as Tuchel's preference for a three last season saw the Spain international feature in 734 minutes from his appointment onwards, having been restricted to 225 minutes under Frank Lampard.

But the key difference between this team and Conte's is in what is expected of those wing-backs, who this season at least have been Chelsea's chief attacking threats, rather than merely complementing players like Eden Hazard, Diego Costa or Cesc Fabregas.

For this reason, James and Chilwell have been stationed high up the pitch, making the most of the platform afforded to them by players like Kante, Jorginho or defensive organiser Thiago Silva.

Among defenders to play 500 minutes or more this season, only Jamaal Lascelles (6.0 per cent) – a set-piece threat in a Newcastle United team who see little of the ball – has taken a greater share of his touches in the opposition box than Chilwell (5.9 per cent) and James (5.6 per cent).

Chilwell ranks second again with 41.3 per cent of his passes ending in the final third, while James (39.5 per cent) is sixth in that regard. Burnley's Matthew Lowton, the man who pips Chilwell, also leads the way for the rate of passes that are played long, showing a little less precision than the attack-minded Chelsea pair.

And this adventurous approach puts James third among all players (minimum 500 minutes), behind only Jack Grealish (7.99) and Salah (7.67), for involvements in shot-ending open play sequences per 90 minutes (7.06), with Chilwell (6.50) 11th and Alonso (6.04) 19th. James is third again for goal-ending open play sequences per 90, his 1.31 trailing Salah (1.83) and Alexander-Arnold (1.34).

Best in the world?

Comparisons between James and Alexander-Arnold are bound to provoke debate, as Tuchel said this week: "I see no reason now why we should get carried away and think about things like: is [James] the best in the world, the best in England or the best in Europe? These things do not help us."

James is "far from finished in his development", the Chelsea coach added.

But his achievements this season, keeping company with Salah and Alexander-Arnold, are particularly impressive given the absence of a forward team-mate of the quality of Liverpool's number 11. Lukaku is supposed to be Chelsea's headline act, but he has not been the only big name to sit out with injury.

Of Chelsea's 30 goals, 13 have been scored by defenders and just six – or 20.0 per cent – by strikers. Only the two clubs at the centre of the season's most dissatisfactory striker transfer saga – Tottenham (9.1 per cent) and City (16.0 per cent) – have had smaller portions of their goals provided by the men paid to score them.

Chelsea have instead shared the burden around, with a league-high 15 different scorers and 18 different players contributing either a goal or an assist, but James, while still patrolling one side of the pitch in a team who have conceded just four times, has shouldered more responsibility than most.

In the four games while Lukaku was missing, no Chelsea player scored more goals (three), laid on more assists (two) or created more chances (12) than James. Over the same period, no player in the Premier League was involved in more shot-ending open play sequences (31), with Chilwell joint-second (28).

Chilwell's momentum has been halted in cruel fashion, but could James end the season, as he is now, as Chelsea's leading scorer?

"Honestly, the way he is playing right now and the way he strikes the ball, I wouldn't be surprised," team-mate Christian Pulisic said after a spectacular Champions League goal against Juve.

Lukaku's return perhaps makes that unlikely, although there is not a huge wealth of evidence for how James might be impacted by his imminent reversion, presumably, to more of a supporting role. His three starts alongside the club's record signing to this point were at best a mixed bag; James scored one and created the other for Lukaku at Arsenal, was sent off at Liverpool and then lost to City, a game in which Chelsea failed to aim a shot on target.

The 21-year-old has gone from strength to strength since then, making it very difficult indeed to imagine a world in which he does not continue to thrive regardless – as its best right-back or otherwise.

Related items

  • Football rumours: Arsenal draw up 10-man shortlist in quest for striker Football rumours: Arsenal draw up 10-man shortlist in quest for striker
    What the papers say

    Arsenal’s quest to find a new striker has been whittled down to a 10-man shortlist, according to the Daily Mirror. Among those being watched by the Gunners are RB Leipzig’s Slovenian Benjamin Sesko, 20, Sporting’s Viktor Gyokeres, 25, and his fellow Sweden international Alexander Isak, 24, at Newcastle.

    Another Arsenal target may be out of reach, reports the Daily Express. They have been tracking Dutch winger Xavi Simons, 20, but his parent club Paris St-Germain are keen to give him game time after a loan spell at RB Leipzig.

    Liverpool forward Luis Diaz, 27, is still hopeful of a move to Spain. The Daily Mail reports on the Colombia international’s father saying he remains keen on a move to one of La Liga’s top clubs.

    Manchester United have strengthening their defence as their main summer priority, according to The Daily Telegraph. Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite, 21, is high on their list of targets.

    Social media round-upPlayers to watch

    Bruno Guimaraes: Spanish outlet Fichajes says Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is “obsessed” by the Newcastle midfielder, 26, who would cost around £85million.

    Lucas Paqueta: West Ham expect Manchester City to make another bid for the Brazil midfielder, 26, according to Football Insider.

  • We expect to be here – Emma Hayes says semi-finals are where Chelsea should be We expect to be here – Emma Hayes says semi-finals are where Chelsea should be

    Chelsea boss Emma Hayes believes her side has simply lived up to expectations by securing passage to the Champions League semi-finals after a 1-1 draw with Ajax at Stamford Bridge.

    Mayra Ramirez opened the scoring 33 minutes into in the first half of her Champions League debut and, while Chasity Grant netted a second-half consolation for the visitors, the Blues ultimately booked their place in the final four with a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory.

    The Blues, who progressed to the semi-finals for the fifth time in seven seasons, will face the winners of the last-eight clash between holders Barcelona and Norwegian side Brann, who play their second leg on Thursday.

    Hayes said: “If you look at our record in the Champions League, even in the last five years, it was only once we didn’t qualify from the group. We’ve made the latter stages every year.

    “We expect to be here, I should say that. I don’t make any excuses. We should be at this level, and we should be at the semi-finals. Of course we have a little bit more depth to be able to do things like make six changes tonight than we’ve ever had.

    “But we haven’t won anything. We’re in the place we want to be. I don’t know who the opponent will be, but we’re ready.”

    The Champions League trophy is the one that still eludes Hayes, who has secured 13 major titles in her 12-year run at the Blues’ helm that will conclude when she departs at the end of this season to take over the US women’s national team ahead of this summer’s Olympics.

    The now five-time semi-finalists came closest when they reached a maiden final in 2021, ultimately finishing runners-up in a 4-0 loss to Barcelona, the same side who knocked them out with a 2-1 victory on aggregate in last season’s semi-finals.

    This time around Hayes feels Chelsea have “more attacking options, more variety, a little more experience”.

    “We’ve been in the latter stages so many times, we know where we have to be to play in those sorts of games,” Hayes added.

    Ajax captain Sherida Spitse, whose side were just the second Dutch club to reach the last eight in Women’s Champions League history, insisted she and her team-mates will walk away from the competition with their heads held high.

    She said: “I think we can be really proud of each other. Of course you always want to win, you always want to go through, but in the end we have shown who Ajax are and that we have developed in a good way, especially in the games in the Champions League.

    “We have to be here every year because I think that is the best place to be.”

  • James Maddison wants opportunity to show what he can do for England James Maddison wants opportunity to show what he can do for England

    James Maddison is eager to have an opportunity to show Gareth Southgate what he can do in an England shirt – but insists he is old enough now to not sulk when he does not start.

    The Tottenham playmaker will be hopeful of a place in Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad when it is announced in May, having made an eye-catching cameo appearance in the 2-2 draw with Belgium on Tuesday.

    After sitting out the loss to Brazil, Maddison came on to tee up Jude Bellingham for the last-gasp equaliser against the Red Devils.

    It was Maddison’s sixth England cap, but he has never completed a full 90 minutes for the senior side.

    Asked if he was happy to be able to make an impact, the former Leicester player said: “Yes, but we’ve got 26 players who are capable of that.

    “There is big competition, a lot of quality in the squad. You have to make sure when you are called upon, you have to go and do the business.

    “I don’t lack the confidence and belief in myself to do that, but you still have to go and do it, you have to produce. I just want that opportunity, I want that time on the pitch, because I know what I’m capable of.

    “It’s not the be-all and end-all that I got an assist. I know the quality that I have and possess and that can help this team, most definitely. You’ve also got to show it and you have also got to have the opportunity to show it.

    “I didn’t feature in the first game, which was disappointing because I wanted to play in a big game at Wembley.

    “I came on (against Belgium) and made an impact. I’m showing him (Southgate) what I’m capable of and I just want to show more of that.”

    Maddison explained how he had watched from the bench against Belgium, seeing the spaces in which he felt he could operate.

    While he is plotting and planning, though, he also admits to being frustrated at not being on the pitch.

    “Grumpy. Very, very, very grumpy is the first thing I’d say,” he replied when asked what he is like sat on the bench.

    “But once you accept the fact you’re on the bench. I’m experienced now, I’m 27. On the odd occasion when I was younger, I’d be sulking, I’d be moody, probably not go about it the right way as a teenage James Maddison.

    “Now I’m older, I just assess the game and see where I can have an impact. I noticed here there was a lot of space between the lines.

    “Their midfield started really strong but it looked like they tired – it’s a big pitch, Wembley – and I knew I’d be able to have an impact. So I studied the little pockets, I got on and managed to make it work.”

    There is fierce competition for a place in England’s Euro 2024 squad and the self-confident Maddison is now targeting a good end to the campaign with Spurs to aid his cause.

    “I don’t feel any pressure. Once you’re away from here you can only play well for your club,” he said.

    “I’ve been in the squad for 18 months now. I feel really at home. I have got a great relationship with all the staff and the players.”

    Making it to Germany would give Maddison a chance to play in a major tournament after a niggling knee injury saw him miss England’s 2022 World Cup campaign despite being part of the squad in Qatar.

    “That was a very difficult time, what people don’t see behind the curtain,” he said.

    “I had an injury that I just couldn’t shake off. I got myself back training after the group stages but I wasn’t really right.

    “I was so disappointed, because going to a major tournament with your country is the pinnacle and you want to impact. I’m hungry to get there now.”

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.