For forty-eight minutes, the Europa League Final was a fairly dull affair, with both Chelsea and Arsenal’s pressing games suffocating each other’s buildup. Then, Giroud scored and the floodgates crashed open, allowing Chelsea to capture the Europa League trophy by the half hour mark. Tactical analysis and match report by Om Arvind. Judging causality in […]

The Europa League semi-final clash between Chelsea and Eintracht Frankfurt was characterized by stalemate. Both Maurizio Sarri and Adi Hütter struggled to put their teams in the driver’s seat, forcing the tie to go down to penalties. Kepa Arrizabalaga held his nerve after Azpilicueta missed, allowing Eden Hazard to bury the winner and create an […]

European semi-finals are often highly anticipated, entertaining and thrilling tactical battles. Eintracht Frankfurt versus Chelsea was no different. Against a compact, man-marking and aggressive pressing unit, Sarri’s team struggled throughout, but adapted and were able to claim an important away goal. Tactical analysis and match report by Joel Parker. Both these clubs sit in fourth […]

Manchester United showed a decent performance in the first half, aided by Chelsea’s disjointed pressing game, and found themselves taking the lead. David de Gea’s mistake let Chelsea draw level though, and United went on to disappoint in the second half when it came to finding a way past an improved Chelsea side. Tactical analysis […]

Chelsea were flat the entire match, in all phases of play. As Liverpool controlled the match through possession, some flashes of individual brilliance were enough to seal the deal, as both Sarri’s tactical rigidity and Eden Hazard’s missed chance denied Chelsea a genuine opportunity to get back into the game. Tactical analysis and match report […]

After three years, Everton finally recorded a Premier League victory over Chelsea. The visitors continued their inconsistent form and incurred another dent in their Champions League hopes. After the visitor’s dominance in the first half, Everton forced themselves back into the game, kept compact, well organised and created much better chances to take the victory […]

This was a decisive match in Chelsea’s season and maybe even in Maurizio Sarri’s managerial career. With Kepa benched for his refusal to be substituted, would the Chelsea team show up? We got a clear answer, and even though this tense game could have easily gone Tottenham’s way, Chelsea fought for every loose ball, pressed […]

It’s only February, but Manchester City already won their second trophy of the season. It was by no means a walk in the park though for Pep Guardiola’s men. Kepa Arrizabalaga’s on-pitch antics and his refusal to be substituted will probably make the headlines, bit below that story actually laid a decent performance by Chelsea. […]

Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s United side bounced back from their disappointing display against PSG with a feisty counterattacking approach, again adopting a 4-4-2 diamond system for a big away game. Apart from bursts of activity from Eden Hazard, Chelsea’s possession was tame. First half goals from Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera were enough to allow United […]

In a game that was essentially over after twenty-five minutes, Manchester City overwhelmed Chelsea in all phases of play. Agüero was key in overcoming Chelsea’s press, Jorginho was pressed out of the game, and City efficiently took advantage of Chelsea’s individual mistakes in defense. Despite Chelsea’s best efforts and a more relaxed City after the […]