Fluid, formidable, with Abraham as ‘false 9’: The 4-3-3 craved by Chelsea fans
https://theathletic.com/2172393/2020/11/01/chelsea-4-3-3-burnley-win/
A win is a win, but not all victories are created equal. Some are unconvincing. Others are unremarkable to the point of being forgotten almost as soon as they are secured. And then there are the ones that feel bigger even in the moment, destined to go down as milestones in the story of a season and in the evolution of a team.
Chelsea have dismantled Burnley at Turf Moor in each of the last three seasons. A 4-0 win in the 2018-19 campaign, achieved without Eden Hazard, arguably represented the closest they ever came to realising the principles of “Sarriball”. Last season the moment belonged to Christian Pulisic, his perfect hat-trick and the “Here I am” performance that heralded the arrival of a new budding superstar in the Premier League.
This time around, their 3-0 win felt like the moment when the raw materials of Frank Lampard’s rebuilding project came together to form something coherent and convincing — a team that constituted the correct sum of illustrious parts assembled by Roman Abramovich’s most spectacular spending spree since 2004.
There was a sense that Lampard had found something in the final 19 minutes of the Krasnodar game, when a flurry goals from Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech and Pulisic gave Chelsea a lead that reflected their superiority; returning N’Golo Kante to the deep midfield position that defined the final stretch of 2019-20 and flanking him with Mason Mount and Kai Havertz, two players who could just as easily be No 10s.
The tactical shift to 4-3-3 unlocked the attacking potential of the team while granting a level of midfield control that had been perilously lacking against Southampton, Sevilla and Manchester United. After the Krasnodar match Lampard admitted that getting a real look at the system had given him “a lot of answers”, and many Chelsea fans clamoured to see it from the start. They got their wish against Burnley, and the results were just as emphatic as they could have hoped.
A fourth consecutive clean sheet was threatened only once, when Ashley Barnes raced onto Matt Lowton’s diagonal pass in the fifth minute and, rushed by the surging Edouard Mendy, lofted his shot well over the bar. Burnley’s status as one of the Premier League’s most limited attacking units should temper the defensive praise, but Chelsea rarely looked like giving up shots, never mind goals. They defended primarily with the ball, enjoying 70.7 per cent possession in the first half and 57.7 per cent in the second.
The balance of the 4-3-3 was fluid and formidable. Kante snuffed out many passages of Burnley play before they could even begin without ever roaming too far from his position, and his penchant for safer passing options mattered less with so many progressive minds in front of him. There was still the occasional moment when he indulged his more creative impulses; a cross that forced Nick Pope to parry over Tammy Abraham’s looping header, then a stepover and dinked through ball that slipped Werner into a crossing position.
Kante touch map vs Burnley
Either side of him, Mount and Havertz weaved the patterns of passing angles and movements that maintained Chelsea’s dominance. Mount, in particular, was magnificent in the position that best allows him to showcase the complete array of his contribution. He led the team in shot attempts (three), chances created (three) and tackles (three), as well as completing more passes in the opposition half (47) than anyone else on the pitch.
Mount pass map vs Burnley (incomplete in red)
Chelsea shifted intelligently to best exploit Burnley’s more rigid shape. The assurance with which Thiago Silva marshalled the defence, coupled with the security Kante provided in front of him and Kurt Zouma, allowed Ben Chilwell and Reece James to spend most of their time overloading the home side’s defence on the flanks while Ziyech and Werner drifted infield to link with Mount and Havertz. In the end, Chilwell touched the ball as many times in the Burnley box (four) as Abraham (No 9) who dropped deep to operate almost as a muscular false nine.
Chelsea average positions vs Burnley
Abraham’s selfless shift meant the functional points of Chelsea’s attack were actually Werner (No 11) and Ziyech (No 22), who provided the team’s two goals from open play with clinical finishes in each half. The Moroccan has been exactly as advertised in his first two starts, hunting his own shot with a determination that few Chelsea wide players have shown in recent years and always on the lookout for the opportunity to play a killer pass.
Ziyech touch map vs Burnley
“I expected a lot of him because I was very aware of his qualities and how important they can be to the club,” Lampard said of Ziyech after the match. “He brings a different property to us, with an eye for a pass, his receiving, crossing and assist-making. But what I have seen since he has been here is his absolute personality, when he plays, to want the ball. His work-rate off the ball is very, very good as well. He has brought those qualities and comes with real confidence. He has given us a big boost.”
Negatives for Chelsea were limited to the “small sensation” Pulisic felt in his hamstring during the warm-up at Turf Moor, and the American’s subsequent withdrawal from the starting XI was presented as precautionary. The nature of the display in his absence could only inspire optimism, even if Lampard was keen to keep the good feelings in proportion.
“I knew we couldn’t throw everything up in the air and it would work perfectly,” he insisted. “We are not at the end of the road, but the clean sheets are a great sign of a spine of the team. Thiago and Mendy have massively helped that, but the group, the way we are defending with the mentality, was really positive. I’m not going to jump up and down after a win like this, but it was a really positive day.”
Lampard’s expansive 4-3-3 will face stiffer challenges than a struggling Burnley side, and there will inevitably be more growing pains in the development of this team. But if the system deployed to such great effect at Turf Moor proves to be the tactical framework that unlocks the full potential of this talented Chelsea group in all areas of the pitch, the significance of this win will run far deeper than three points.
