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Flabbergasting Fabregas- How did he pull it off?


hjperdeath
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I won't be analyzing like I used to last year, mostly due to time constraints, I still will be doing a few here and there and this would be the right kind of start for me.

Instead of going directly into the scene , I'll start a few steps back. Oscar was close to phenomenal against Burnley. He was at the right places at the right time and has adapted brilliantly into a new kind of role. The three man midfield was heralded by new signing and the second coming of the Messiah himself, Cesc Fabregas but his rotational movement with Oscar was remarkable considering the short time they have spent together. Neither of the three were afraid to ask for the ball and were confident in every stride.

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Here we see Matic receiving the ball from the center-backs and playing it towards Cesc who looks around and asks for the ball. Two of them always stayed close to each other, with the third one staying behind them to cover. This also gave the midfield more passing options when pressed directly in the first phase, just like most teams that tend to park the bus do. After you get the ball past the first temporary block of two or more opposition pressers, you will be pressed in from behind by opposition defenders who want to transition back into their defensive structure. The only way past this , is by passing quickly, creating a moment of pure magic or pulling the ball back to give the opposition time to settle. Chelsea frequently adopted the third approach, making it rather frustrating for the attackers to penetrate the second block of four.
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Once past the initial temporary pressing phase, Costa drops deep to create more passing options. This is a vital component into breaking a team down. Burnley aimed at pressing directly at men, which left two or atleast one other player open. Last year Jose instructed Torres to stay up. His intention was that if he could create enough space between the central and last defensive block, he could have players penetrate that space. Which is why Chelsea played a lot of lateral and diagonal passes just outside the box.

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You couldn't call it exactly a 4-3-3, because the defensive line pushed up more, and there wasn't a midfield player who would cover. The three moved with the ball. This meant more possession and better ball retention. Even if they were to directly lose the ball, one could initially press, while the other two fell back to slow down the counter-attack. It sounds pretty good on paper, but it will take time and we are slowly adapting to it.

The Burnley player wasn't really pleased with Chelsea's triangles though.

The ball then went on to Schurrle who tapped it to Hazard. Hazard then went on to wreak havoc with Burnley's defensive structure as he attracted and destroyed defenders who's sole intention was to bring him down as quickly as possible. However an aerial view of the field before he made the run gives us a better look into Chelsea's amazing structure that does look pretty lopsided at first.

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First lets take a look at the full-backs who are much higher than they used to be last season. This is a considerable improvement as it gives us more width, another important factor that contributes to breaking down teams. The triangles are self explanatory really. If you watch the whole game aerially you can see how close the three are. This also gives Hazard and opportunity to play more in the #10 position, while opening up spaces for other players to penetrate into.

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I would like to note down three attributes of this ingeniously crafted goal. Firstly, Schurrle's run was so instinctive that is suggests great communication and the fact that they are already used to playing with each other. Borderline telepathic in other words. Secondly, Fabregas doesn't need a first touch. He initially did look like he was going to shoot, but his posture changed a second before Schurrle moved in behind the defender. Thirdly, Costa's involvement is also pretty heavy. He pushed back and drew the defensive line back. This played Schurrle onside with the margin of only two players. A fine line between a brilliant goal and a depressing offside.

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Its hard to draw decisive tactical analysis from screenshots and one move, one thing that these stills did illustrate is the amount of attention being paid to Diego Costa, particularly in the box.

When was the last time we saw 3-4 defenders all huddled around our CF in an effort to shut off his servicing? The attention he garners is what is providing the space for Schurrle to run into.

The Only Place to Be mentioned when we first signed Costa that he will provide space for our AM's to exploit, I at first questioned that, but having seen how poorly Burnley defended this I may reconsider. There is SO MUCH room for Schurrle to attack and with Cesc you only need a split second to exploit it.

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