I Got The Blues Norwich 1 x 3 Chelsea – English Premier League I Got the Blues is a contextualized stats point of view where chances created, blocked and conceded by Chelsea players during matches are scouted. The feature rates the players’ individual contribution in each of those aspects, in addition to any important mistakes and isolated plays that could be highlighted. As an attempt to identify players’ and tactics’ weaknesses and strengths, negative and positive contributions are rate separately instead of being deduced from one another. Rates vary from 1 to 5 [positively or negatively] and are giving to players individually. Collective plays are also rated in terms of team work and team chemistry, but unlike the players who are rated for almost every touch in the match, collectively only the best [or worst] displays are rated. It’s important to stress that rates are vary according to the contribution’s importance – meaning that a failed pass that gives the opponent a counter-attack will be rated more negatively than a failed pass in an end zone that simply concedes a turnover. In addition to the data, a brief analysis is provided collectively and individually to assess the team’s performance in general. For this week we showcased two 'specials': transition to attack and Oscar and Mata's interchange. For the transition readers should consider it the final pass that will get the ball in the attacking half or when someone crosses the mid-line carrying the ball with the clear intent to set up the attack. Most transitions weren't rated, only showcased because normally this is just another pass in the match and rating it would be counter-productive. Only amazing passes (and terribly incomplete ones) were rated - as they are usually. Oscar and Mata's interchange is just informative, the author doesn't aim to say who is better as a CAM or as a RW or who should play in each position. The only opinion the author shares is that they shouldn't leave the RW abandoned so often, as for times during the matches both were in the middle as they naturally gravitate there. Players ratings: total amount of contributions (positive rate/negative rate): § Petr Cech: 2 (5, -2) § Branislav Ivanovic: 15 (50, -12) § David Luiz: 21 (61, -19) § John Terry: 17 (54, -7) § Ashley Cole: 7 (11, -12) § Ramires: 18 (47, -22) § Frank Lampard: 8 (27, -7) § Juan Mata: 10 (28, -13) § Oscar: 15 (46, -14) § André Schürrle: 15 (45, -8) § Demba Ba: 10 (19, -10) § Samuel Eto'o: 2 (8,0) § Eden Hazard: 1 (5,0) § Willian: 4 (18,0) Team Chemistry rates: § Only two plays were showcased, one positive (rated 5) and one negative (rated -3). Team Work rates: § Ten plays were show cased and seven out of those were positive while three were negative. Seven plays rated 5, one rated -3 and two rated -5. All negative rates came from poor defending movement, positioning and cover. Individual highlights: § John Terry, despite the mistake in the goal conceded, is the most consistent player in the defense. § The defensive trio formed by Ivanovic, Terry and Luiz [throughout the whole match] was very effective with few mistakes. § For the second match in a row Oscar is the player who contributed creatively the most for the team (6). Additional observations: § Declining. Ashley Cole had a negative overall contribution, not only his negative rate were bigger than positive summing up, he also had more negative contributions (4) than positive (3). § The sun as a twelfth player. During the first half Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy played against the sun and it seems like Mourinho had asked the team to insist on long and high ball in the box as they were exhaustively done with normally Ba as the target-man. It is a successful tactic because the England International goalkeeper found himself in trouble a few times during the match. Playing against the sun in the second half, those direct connections weren’t used by Chelsea as much. Additional analysis: § Mata and Oscar Interchange. Mata played 58:05 minutes as a CAM, 20:51 as a RW and 01:18 as a LW; meanwhile Oscar played 30:11 as a CAM, 46:05 as a RW, and 04:14 as a LW. § Chelsea’s transition to attack. Except for counter-attacks, there were 53 transitions from defense to midfield or attack in open play. Out of those 40 were successful while 13 weren’t completed. The player that transitions Chelsea to the attacking half more often is Luiz with 17 hits and 4 misses, followed by Lampard with 8 hits and no miss. Conclusions: § A secret weapon or overloaded? Luiz was the player responsible for most of Chelsea’s transitions from defense to midfield or attack. With good pass, first touch and ball control the CB provided accurate passing to make the transition to the attack and still he was rarely marked or pressed by opposition [it doesn’t happen only with Norwich, though]. No wonder so many fans want to see him as a DM. § Mata is the CAM, but he’s not alone. Whether this guidance comes from the manager or it’s an agreement between the players, for the most part of the match Mata worked as a CAM as showed in the charts above. Mata had 8 contributions in the attack (4 positive and 4 negative) which shows why most fans didn’t feel like he had a great match. He had four lovely passes [all 4 as a CAM], but also offered four turnovers, two of which very poor. Four positive contributions isn’t a bad number, but it was a below part display by Mata compared to his best days. Oscar on the other hand played mostly in the RW. Out of his 15 contributions in the match 8 were offensively (6 positive, 2 negative). Looking closer in those two negative contributions one of them was a way off-target shot (playing as a CAM) and a sloppy pass (as CAM) in the final seconds of the match. Looking at his 6 positive contributions, one of course is the goal (as CAM), as well as the pass for Hazard’s goal (as RW), but the other four consist in a blocked shot to the goal (as CAM), a header-pass for a counter-attack (as CAM), an assist to Schürrle inside the box (as CAM) and another for Ivanovic at the edge of the box (as RW). The Brazilian is progressing creatively even if he’s playing as a RW and while he’s still far behind Mata creatively, the partnership is very positive for Chelsea. There’s a down side to them though. As both prefer to play in the middle, for moments during the match both were positioned in the middle, leaving the RW abandoned. Against oppositions like Norwich [which didn’t sit too deeply and tried to make their own game] the lack of width isn’t too important, but in tight matches with overcrowded midfield at least one of them should hold position in the wing. Attached in the spoiler section is a table of their time in each position. § Oscar, MOTM. Despite his higher than usual amount of mistakes (he had 4 negative contributions out of his 15), Oscar was the best player in the pitch, actively participating in two goals, as well as providing assists to Schürrle and Ivanovic and two shots on goal. No other player contributed as much to the attack, while also recovering possession 3 times throughout the match. § Defensive? Just like last match against Steaua, the biggest contributions in the match came from the defense. On one hand this is positive because when the defenders are anticipating opponents and tackling to recover possession it means the team is pressing constantly, but maybe too deep in the pitch. Norwich’s pitch is even smaller than the usual in England and that makes the play more compact and even when the defense is high, it’s still quite inside the defensive half. In bigger pitches – especially in European competitions – it’s going to be interesting to see if the defenders will press deeper or if the players in the midfield – including the attackers – will press higher and give Mourinho the high pressure football philosophy he wants to have in place. § The pivot discussion. Chelsea fans are a very heterogenic lot, and different opinions about players, style and tactics are easily found in the middle of the Blues’ fans, but two things seem to be universal among fans: the pivot and the strikers. Today we won’t provide a closer look at the strikers, but the pivot was singled out. Ramires and Lampard had a lot of positive contributions throughout the match with overall good stats. Their pass accuracy was good – Ramires 56/62 (90%)*; Lampard 58/66 (88%)*– which means 25% of all passes by Chelsea (506)* passed through the pivot. While statistically it seems like the pivot participated enough, a closer look into the numbers and beyond them will show otherwise. Lampard didn’t participate enough in the attack, Ramires was slower than usual (and more erratic) and the transition to attack should involve them much more than it did. The double pivot helped starting Chelsea's attack 14 times which is less than half than the defense did (30) [considering only the goalkeeper and center-backs]. Who also contributed inexpressively to the transition were the FBs and their lack of action only makes the pivot issues more prominent. Cole and Ivanovic only transitioned the play three times [two of which failed]. A formation like the 4-2-3-1 Mourinho favors in Chelsea demands the full-backs and the double-pivot to start the transition more often, as the three attacking midfielders usually don’t go way back to start it. The pitiful amount of transitions made by the full-backs will only add to the team’s lack of width and relying on the defense will lead to more turnovers than necessary as the numbers show: the pivot and FB’s combined transitioned play 17 times and made only three mistakes (82% accuracy), whereas the defense conceded a turnover every three times they tried to buildup the play (66% accuracy). Whereas David Luiz is an amazing player to transition the play with great pass accuracy and vision, relying on the Brazilian helps the problem in the pivot, but definitely doesn’t fix it. Chelsea's double pivot needs to step up and start controlling the game for the team and the full-backs contribution must grow. *passes accuracy data provided by Squawka Spoiler Data summary First Half00:28 – Luiz is pressed and risks a failed long pass conceding the turn over. Luiz -2 [Luiz failed transition to attack] 00:30 – Schürrle anticipates the opponent and recovers the ball, and gets a throw-in for Chelsea. Schürrle 3 01:07 – Luiz attempts a long pass from defense and fails. Luiz -2 [Luiz failed transition to attack] 01:16 – Oscar and Schürrle press the opponents in their half and lead them to a failed pass Cole intercepts. Team work 5. Oscar, Schürrle 4. 01:28 – Schürrle passes by one opponent and avoids three in the flanks, passing to Oscar, but the Brazilian is blocked. Schürrle 5. 02:02 – [Cech’s successful transition to second third]. Unrated. 01:57 – Cole successfully tackles the opponent and recovers ball possession. Cole 4. 02:34 – Schürrle presses and successfully tackles the ball recovering possession. Schürrle 5. 02:58 – [Luiz’s successful transition to second third]. Unrated. 03:05 – Lampard successful long pass to Ba. Lampard 5. [Lampard transition to attack] 03:32 – Lampard spectacular long pass to Ba, who shows amazing ball control before assisting Oscar who finishes with the class to make Chelsea 1x0. Chemistry 5. Lampard, Ba, Oscar 5. [Lampard successful transition to attack] 04:35 – Ivanovic anticipates opponent and recovers ball possession. Ivanovic 4. 04:41 – Mata can’t control the ball and concedes a turnover. Mata -4. [Lampard successful transition to attack] 05:07 – Ramires unsuccessful tackle offers space to opponent. Luiz anticipates opposition at the edge of the Chelsea's box, recovering ball possession. Ramires -4; Luiz 5. [Luiz successful transition to second third] 05:58 – Ba recovers possession from a failed pass by Norwich. Ba 2. [Lampard successful transition to attack] 06:20 – Norwich presses and Chelsea go back, back, back until the ball is passed to Cech who tries the direct connection with the attack unsuccessfully. [Cech failed transition to attack] 06:46 – Terry wins aerial duel. Terry 3. 07:15 – [Luiz transition to attack]. Unrated 07:17 – Ivanovic poor pass in the attack. Ivanovic -3. 07:24 – Ba and Mata press the opponents and recover possession through a throw in. Team work 5. Ba, Mata 4. 08:07 – Lampard carries the ball from defense do midfield, pass to Ramires who is tackled by opposition offering counter-attack. Ramires -4. [Lampard transition to attack carrying the ball] 08:14 – Cole covers Terry in counter-attack. Team work 5. Cole 5. 09:27 – Luiz failed pass. Luiz -2. [Luiz failed transition to attack] 10:47 – Opponents pressed and defense passed back to Cech who passed badly to midfield. Cech -2. [Cech failed transition to midfield] 11:38 – Lampard takes a rebound from Ramires lost aerial duel and recovers possession. Ramires -1, Lampard 3. 11:59 – Luiz successful long pass to transition to attack when the team was highly pressed. Luiz 5. [Luiz successful transition to attack] 12:30 – Terry anticipates opponent inside the box recovering possession. Terry 5. 13:01 – Mata incomplete pass in the attack. Mata -3 13:06 – Lampard anticipates opponent in the attack recovering ball possession, Ramires provides successful pass for Mata to linkup play. Lampard 4, Ramires 4. 13:11 – Mata assists Ba, but Ruddy saves Ba attempt. Mata 5. Ba 2. 17:17 – Sloppy pass from Cole puts Luiz in danger, but the Brazilian works around it and passes to Ba. Cole -1, Luiz 5. [Luiz successful transition from midfield to attack] 18:21 – Terry long pass finds Ba in the box, but opposition clears the shot. Terry 5, Ba 2. [ Terry successful transition to attack] 20:10 – Lampard failed pass in attack concedes a throw-in. Lampard -3. [Lampard successful transition to attack (before the incomplete pass)] 20:15 – Terry wins aerial duel and recovers ball possession in attack half. Terry 3. 22:03 – Cech’s save in goalkeeper’s box. Cech 5. 22:30 – Ivanovic wins aerial duel in a corner by the opposition. Ivanovic 5. 22:37 – Ivanovic transitions to midfield. Unrated [ivanovic successful transition to midfield] 23:33 – Luiz transitions from defense to attack with a precise long pass. Luiz 5. [Luiz successful transition to attack] 23:35 – Sloppy pass by Ba concedes a turnover. Ba -3. 23:40 – Ivanovic successful tackle recovers ball possession in the attack. Ivanovic 4. 23:48 – Oscar carries the ball from the right wing to the mid, taking on a couple of opponents and then assists Schürrle inside the box, but the German’s shot is off target. Oscar 4, Schürrle -2 24:27 – Terry wins aerial duel. Terry 3 25:08 – Oscar anticipates the opponent at the edge of Chelsea's box and starts counter-attack, but then risks a failed long pass. Oscar 5. Oscar -3 25:40 – Oscar and Ramires press the opponent and Ivanovic anticipates the pass. Team work 5. Oscar, Ramires, Ivanovic 5. 26:40 – Luiz carries the ball to transition from defense to mid-attack. Unrated. [Luiz successful transition from defense to mid-attack] 27:15 – Luiz carries the ball to transition from defense to mid-attack. Unrated. [Luiz successful transition from defense to mid-attack] 27:53 – Luiz hits the free-kick from midfield to the box, but Ba can’t reach. Luiz 3. 28:59 – Luiz long pass to attack. Luiz 5. [Luiz successful transition to attack] 29:08 – Luiz anticipates opponent on the run in midfield and transitions to attack. Luiz 5 [Luiz successful transition from midfield to attack] 29:16 – Oscar passes to Ivanovic at the edge of the box, but he can’t control the ball. Oscar 3, Ivanovic -3 29:32 – Luiz covers Ivanovic in the right flank. Team work 5, Luiz 3. 31:10 – Terry takes advantage of an incomplete pass, but Luiz also concedes a turnover. Terry 2, Luiz -3 32:36 – Oscar tackles the ball and recovers possession in midfield. Oscar 4. 32:51 – Ramires makes transition from defense to counter-attack. Poor finish by Ba. Ramires 3, Ba -2. [Ramires successful transition to attack] 34:00 – Terry clears the ball in the box with a header. Terry 3. 34:04 – Terry anticipates the opposition at the edge of the box. Terry 4. 35:45 – Luiz anticipates opponent and recovers ball possession preventing a counter-attack. Luiz 5 36:13 – Ramires incomplete pass. Ramires -3 36:55 – Mata incomplete pass in the attack. Mata-3 37:35 – Luiz stops attack by anticipating his opponent. Luiz 4 37:44 – Oscar wins duel and recovers possessions. Oscar 3 38:47 – [Cole failed transition to attack]. Cole -3 38:51 – Terry wins aerial duel. Terry 4 39:08 – Sloppy pass by Ramires to make transition to attack. -2. [Ramires failed transition to attack] 39:10 – Luiz successful long pass to attack. 3 [ Luiz successful transition to attack] 40:00 – Ramires blocks shot inside the box. Ramires 4. 41:28 – Terry wins due and stops attack. Terry 4. 41:44 – Terry clears cross from the box. Terry 4. 42:05 – Poor defending/marking by Lampard and Schürrle allowing a cross. Lampard -4, Schürrle -3. 43:09 – Ivanovic wins aerial due. Ivanovic 3. 43:34 – Ramires transition from midfield to attack. Ramires 3. [Ramires successful transition to attack] 44:19 – Schürrle presses the opponent after Chelsea loses possession in the attacking half and delays Norwich counter-attack and then forces the opponent to pass sloppily. Schürrle 4. 44:52 – Cole wins a tackle and recovers possession. Cole 3. +00:40 – Terry blocks a shot. Terry 3 +00:55 – Ivanovic loses an aerial duel in the box in a corner. Ivanovic -3. Second Half 45:39 – Terry long pass to the attack is incomplete. Terry -2. [Terry failed transition to attack] 45:50 – Lovely linkup between Schürrle and Ramires in the left, but Ba couldn’t capitalize Ramires’ cross. Schürrle 4, Ramires 5, Ba -2 46:35 – Poor pass by Schürrle. Schürrle -3 47:12 – [Luiz makes the transition from defense to attack carrying the ball] unrated 48:02 – Good linkup between Schürrle, Lampard, but Oscar is blocked when he finishes. Schürrle 4, Lampard 5, Oscar 3 49:14 – [Cech bad transition to attack]. Unrated. 49:34 – Ramires anticipates the opponent in the final third and recovers possession. Ramires 5. 49:52 – [Ramires and Luiz make smooth transition to attack]. Unrated. 52:38 – Shaky movement by defense. Chemistry -3. Ivanovic -3, Luiz -2. 53:12 – Schürrle presses and forces a bad pass from opposition, recovering possession. Schürrle 3. 53:25 – Incomplete pass by Ramires in the attack. Ramires -3. 55:56 – [Luiz good transition to attack]. Unrated. 56:10 – Successful tackle by Lampard in the attacking field recovers ball possession. Lampard 5. 56:39 – Terry wins aerial duel. Terry 3. 57:36 – Good coverage by Ivanovic as Luiz tries to anticipate but can’t. Team work 5. Ivanovic 4. 58:01 – Bad marking by Cole, Terry is a bit slow but can clear the ball. Cole -5, Terry 3. 59:00 – Luiz good defending recovers ball possession and stops counter-attack. Luiz 5. 59:15 – [Good transition to attack by Terry under pressure]. Terry 5. 60:43 – Schürrle clears a corner away. Schürrle 3. 62:20 – Ramires clears the ball from the box. Ramires 4. 62:25 – Oscar wins aerial duel and links the counter. Oscar 5. 62:43 – Brilliant pass from Mata to Cole. [isolate play]. Mata 5. 62:50 – Good assist by Mata, but Oscar’s finish is way off. Mata 5, Oscar -5. 63:22 – Cole loses aerial duel. Cole -3. 63:30 – Ba intercepts the ball in the defense half. Ba 4. 63:35 – [schürrle makes the transition to attack carrying the ball]. Unrated. 63:46 – Ba is slow to reposition himself and is caught offside, although he doesn’t pursue the ball. Ba -3 64:15 – [Luiz good transition to attack]. Unrated. 66:00 – Mata presses opponent inside their box and forces him to concede a throw-in. Mata 4. 67:05 – Terry loses aerial duel inside the box, Luiz is a tad late to avoid the second header that ends up with Norwich’s goal. Terry -5, Luiz -4. 68:18 – [schürrle transition to attack carrying the ball]. Unrated. 70:15 – Slightly slow and bad coverage of Chelsea defensively after they took a corner. Team work -3. 70:54 – [Ramires good transition to attack]. Unrated. 71:05 – Lovely assist by Mata, but Schürrle’s shot is blocked. Mata 5, Schürrle 2. 71:43 – Successful tackle by Ramires prevents counter-attack. Ramires 5. 73:25 – Good cross by Cole. Cole 3. 74:50 – Ivanovic anticipates opponent inside the box, stopping attack. Ivanovic 5. 75:15 – [schürrle transition to attack carrying the ball + combo with Hazard]. Unrated. 75:35 – Successful tackle by Ramires in the attack. Ramires 5. 75:52 – Luiz loses midfield duel allowing counter-attack. Luiz -4. 75:59 – Luiz fixes his own mess and recovers ball possession. Luiz 3. 76:00 – [Luiz good transition to attack by carrying the ball]. Unrated. 76:28 – [Luiz good transition to attack]. Unrated. 76:36 – Poor cross by Mata to no one in the box. Mata -3. 77:20 – [Luiz good transition to attack]. Unrated. 77:51 – Eto'o anticipates opponent in the attack and recovers possession. Eto'o 4. 78:03 – Good cross by Ivanovic. Ivanovic 5. 79:07 – [ivanovic bad transition to attack]. Unrated. 79:39 – Terrible positioning by Chelsea defense, leaving an opponent completely unmarked at the edge of the box. Team work -5. 80:55 – Ivanovic + Willian combo pressing and tackling recovers the ball to Chelsea. Willian 4, Ivanovic 5. 80:59 – [Lampard transition to attack]. Unrated. 81:06 – Oscar bad control of ball gives it away. Oscar -3. 81:41 – Terrible positioning by Chelsea defense, leaving an opponent completely unmarked inside the box. Team work -5. 81:47 – [Luiz bad transition to attack with a long pass]. Unrated. 82:06 – Ivanovic anticipates an opponent and recovers possession. Ivanovic 5. 82:15 – [Willian smooth transition to attack]. Unrated. 83:05 – Bad defending by Ramires allows dangerous attack. Ramires -5. 84:01 – Ivanovic clears corner with a header. Ivanovic 5. 84:03 – Hazard wins an aerial duel, Willian controls the ball twice with his head to start the counter-attack led by Oscar who assists Hazard that scores. Team work 5. Hazard, Willian, Oscar 5. 85:25 – Luiz blocks a cross. Luiz 5. 85:32 – [Oscar + Willian combo make smooth transition to attack]. Unrated. 85:41 – Willian magnificent finish to score. Isolate play. Willian 5+ 87:14 – Schürrle anticipates the opponent near the corner, regains possession. Schürrle 4. 88:01 – Ramires wins a tackle in midfield. Ramires 4. 91:16 – Willian successful tackle in the midfield. Willian 4. 91:38 – Schürrle anticipates the opponent and recovers possession. Schürrle 4. 92:16 – [Terry bad transition to attack with a long pass]. Unrated. 92:40 – [Cech bad transition to attack]. Unrated. 92:47 – Eto'o wins duel in the sideline and regains possession in the attack half. Eto'o 4. 93:12 – Sloppy pass by Oscar concedes turnover. Oscar -3. Click here to view the article
