Chelsea's Midfield Positioning and Movement - Part II

[Barbara 15,149]

Moving to the team’s attacking midfield, we’ll find a trident that was very successful in the 2012/13 season – despite being poorly used by the two managers that called the shots in Stamford Bridge last season. The fact is Chelsea has one of the most promising midfields in the world with its three leading men – Mata, Hazard and Oscar, but still it felt like Mazacar didn’t live up their full potential last season.

That could be explained by Oscar and Hazard’s first season in the team, but it goes beyond that. With their arrival there was also a drastic change compared to the style chosen by the European champions’ the previous season, which directly impacted the third man – Mata – who already was in his second season with the Blues. The Spaniard found himself also having to adapt as the new signings by his side completely changed the style of play. Chelsea moved from the team that parked the bus against Barcelona and Bayern the previous Champions League to a natural, attack oriented.

The offensive trio showed progress in their first season together and although at moments Chelsea faced many issues in the midfield, it was also where the season’s most brilliant moments came from. That doesn’t mean much as defensively the team couldn’t find the consistency it was used to show in the past and the attack was subpar and disappointing for the most part. But now there’s a new chance to make it work as it should with the arrival of new manager José Mourinho.

One thing though is noticeable and remarkable about Chelsea’s three maestros: the movement. Although they have preferred zones in the attack and where they play more often – probably according to managers orders – the trident is very versatile and as shown below we can see Oscar, Mata and Hazard playing right, left and central with Oscar as the most versatile of all. This movement sort of makes up for the slowness the midfield often shows especially in the transition from defense to attack. Of course it doesn’t directly make up for the lack of speed, but it turns opponent defenders’ job all that much harder because the trio had showed class, touch, intelligence, creative and power allied with the unpredictable rotations they do throughout the match.

Let’s see one by one how they occupied the pitch and where they carried more the ball.

Oscar (Right Winger)

Oscar’s graphic is a wonder itself. It seems like the Brazilian is everywhere. He finished Confederations Cup as the player with more tackles and interceptions in the tournament, even though he played as a CAM. We can see a lot of more yellow in the midfield and defense on his graphic than compared to Hazard’s and Mata’s. And that’s because he’s a hard worker, and also remarkably smart. We have to really pay close attention to the youngster’s movement and actions to evaluate how important he is.

If the yellow parts are where he tackled, intercepted, or passed promptly the ball, we see how effective he is on making the game more fluent offensively and how much pressure he puts on the rivals by chasing them constantly.

While he plays as a #10 in Brazil NT, in Chelsea Mata is almost absolute in the position which leads Oscar to move to the flanks more often. Still there’s a significant red zone in his graphic centered in the attack zone. Given his mates preferences he’s more often present in the right side whether just by the pitch’s limit or by the right side of the box.

Unlike Mata and Hazard, Oscar has also been very present inside the box, despite never playing as a forwarder. That’s also something he brings from his time in Internacional and Brazil NT (main team and U21). Oscar has great, clever and powerful finishing and as proved by the chart, he also moves a lot, making him a great option to work closer to the striker.

The mobility, unpredictability, consistency, intelligence and defensive skills offered by Oscar makes his chart the most impressive of all showing that despite having less goals and assists compared to Mata and Hazard, he works more. Still many fans don’t see it and again it passes through the bench. It’s clear that Oscar was better played with Roberto di Matteo than he was with Rafael Benitez. It seems like it took a while for Benitez to be convinced of our #11 value and that led him to start less matches than his two mates in the midfield, spending from 12% to 16% less time playing. But there’s a new commander in charge now and one that appreciates hard workers more than any other manager, and who values smart movement and expressive defensive contribution.

Hazard (Left Winger)

Despite having his presence and possession areas less spread out than Oscar’s, Hazard’s graphic is also impressive, showing that the Belgian indeed has a preferred zone on the pitch. And that’s also where he had proved to be more efficient and lethal. But what really catches the eye when we look at his chart is how much Hazard keeps the ball on his feet. The largest red zones in the attacking midfield belong to him and the fact that there’s such a big coverage in the left side shows how dominant Eden can be. He owns Chelsea’s left side, but not only that: he brings the game to his feet. The comparison between the three AM in the team shows that Eden keeps the ball much more than Mata and still more than Oscar despite the Brazilian’s presence everywhere which makes him a natural leader to the team. He isn’t afraid of being in charge or taking the responsibility to make things happen. He’s confident and bold, creative and unpredictable, but above all he is brave.

Just like Oscar, last season was his first with the Blues and he brushed it off completely, adapting quickly and showing what he is here for – once again showing such a fierce personality and thirsty to win matches and titles. Determination could easily be Eden Hazard’s middle name. It’s pretty clear that no matter who is going to play by his side, Hazard will mostly play on the left side; have one of the teams highest possession and probably become the key player to improve the team’s attack with his goals and assists. Mata on his first season in the club had 20 assists and 12 goals, compared to Hazard’s 25 and 13 respectively. It doesn’t look like it’ll take much longer before Chelsea’s midfield has a new boss in the team’s #17. And it looks promising.

Mata (Center Attacking Midfielder)

Mata is the classical #10 not only because of the number in the back of his jersey, but mainly in the way he handles the ball in Chelsea’s midfield.

He played basically in a central position, but it’s interesting to notice he went quite often to the right winger as well and not much to the left. That has to do with Hazard’s dominance on the left side, but also with Oscar’s constant movement in the pitch.

He moves a lot in the center/right flank area and most of his plays came from that place according to the chart. With impressive stats in the season (20 goals and 33 assists) he’s been directly or indirectly responsible for more than one third of Chelsea’s goals last season (the team stroke 147 times). The second best ratio goes to Hazard with 45 goals scored or assisted by him).

Mata has been the team’s maestro more than anyone else and it’s no surprise he was voted by the club for the second year in a row as Player of the Year.

But if that’s the case why hasn’t the midfield been more impressive and effective last season?

The stats are really positive and the attitude and commitment from Mata, Oscar and Hazard show that they’re a force to be reckoned with by opponents’ defense. Then why does it feel like there’s something missing? Why does it feel like they were far from what they could be? A lot of factors actually, some of which already mentioned: adaptation to English and European (in Oscar’s case)football; drastic change from last season’s kind of players; lack of speed and depth from defensive midfield; but maybe none of those things are more important than frustrating – or even poor – management.

While the team has struggled throughout the season, leaving Champions League in the groups’ stage and never being a contender to the Premiership, tactically the team is still undefined. There isn’t a pattern, a strength or a style despite both coaches working basically the same 4-2-3-1 formation. The team doesn’t have a trademark, something that makes it stand out from competition and its smaller success compared to previous seasons came basically from the offensive trident’s individual talent and accomplishments. Summarizing it, Oscar, Mata, Hazard and Lampard showed their value as individual players, but they still don’t know what to expect from one another. The chemistry and familiarity required for a success and consistent midfield are from being reached.

Those four players have been decisive to assure the team finished third in EPL and winning Europa League, but they also struggled on different occasions individually and mainly collective at many times in the season and matches. Oscar and Hazard showed impressive quick ability to adapt, but it seems like they did all the hard work with their inherent talent instead of being oriented, guided, improved and backed up by their managers. At some points it felt like those amazing players were on their own.

Regardless of the good and bad brought by di Matteo and Benitez, it’s clear that Chelsea has tactical issues. Those problems include lack of key players like a DLP and an effective striker, but maybe the most compromising fault at the team’s past season had been the lack of strong definitions of what is expected from the players, especially the midfielders. At many matches it seemed like the team was lost in the pitch and we’ve watched the players trying in every possible way to score and win matches, giving their best, but without direction and organization at times. There have been great quality matches, where things flew naturally, but in other times the team didn’t respond and weaker sides like QPR, Southampton and Swansea troubled Chelsea much more than expected.

The team lacks organization, style and punctual definitions of what the manager expects from his players. At moments it didn’t seem clear they were completely sure about their roles, positions, rotation and tactical changes during the matches and the result was a hot mess at points. Without guidance and support coming from the bench the squad seemed stagnant and performed way below its potential more times than it should be allowed. And if that affects the best players in the team, it definitely contributes to poor performances by less consistent and talented players like Torres.

The numbers are there and they prove the passion, the commitment, the hard work, brilliance and intelligence of some of those players. But if anything the stats also scream the midfielders are in desperate need of someone who will work with the same dedication to make sure they perform their best in the pitch, reaching the levels of amazement and wonder this team can produce. It seems like the right guy to the job has been appointed and with a few adjustments and maybe a couple of signings to reinforce zones that are less blessed technically, maybe Chelsea will be the next club to dictate and show the way to go. They already got the harder to find, it’s now only a matter of making it happen.

*All graphics have been created by journalist Mario Cézar Pereira, that only provided the information to the five players analyzed in the article and consequently making the analysis impossible for players like Mikel and Moses. Defining Oscar as RW, Mata as CAM and Hazard as LW was merely based in the zone where the graphic showed they predominantly played throughout the season as showed in the charts.

Images source: Mauro Cezar Pereira/ESPN BRASIL

Analysis: Bárbara C. S. C. Batista

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Brilliant again Barbara. I have a few points I'd like to add. I'll write a reply later.

[The Skipper 20,593]

Joy to read. Well done Barb.

[Stingray 9,441]

I did not expect anything less ! Very nice.

[Stingray 9,441]

DP

Double post - not the other porn thing.

[mediator 2,026]

That's great

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Great analysis @, but I think those graphs tell us a bit more. What I notice from the pictures is the lack of defensive runs, interceptions , and generally lack of presence of Mata and Hazard in our own half. Which would imply that they rarely tracked back to defend (I'd love to compare this to a chart about Moses if you have access to one by any chance but even when you compare it to Oscar you can see what I mean). Another thing I notice is that the red areas where they have touched the ball is much much more around the box than around the halfway line meaning that those two did not drop off too often to receive the ball (this is what I meant the other day when I said that passing takes two parties: the passer and the receiver). And I personally think that these two problems are bigger than the absence of a DPL in our team or our striker problems.

This is what is "missing" from our midfield, imo: the closeness of our lines and our midfield working together as a team. Under RDM, we literally defended with only 4-5 players and our defending started at the edge of our own penalty box! Benitez managed to improve on this by moving the block deeper and making some adjustments like having only one of the fullbacks attack at once and we even saw Hazard tracking back more often (but still not enough and not near what Jose will probably request of him). He realized that Mata could not do this and gave him a different role as a second striker to free him of some defensive duties.

Concerning the "slowness" of our pivot, while some of it is indeed down to the technical abilities of the players playing there, I think the larger part is due to the huge spaces between the lines of our 4-2-3-1. Under RDM, not only was there no one dropping to receive the ball from the pivot, but we completely lacked any sort of offensive system. Our whole attack plan at times seemed to be "give the ball to Hazard and Mata" and while that worked some time at the start of the season (aided by the fact that we had so many people in attack and out of position), we could not rely on individual brilliance forever and at times, Juan and Eden just ran out of ideas (the game against Liverpool comes to mind) which is evident by the drop in form and results towards the end of Robbies time here. Again Rafa tried to fix this by creating triangles between the CB's, pivot and fullbacks to get the ball out of defense; he also tried to rely on Luiz's dribbling and passing ability to get the ball to the offense (but we still lacked any real effective system and still heavily relied on individual abilities once the ball got to the offense.)

But this was only a small step in the right direction*. The consequences of all this is that the team often looked unorganized and dismantled, and the pivot was often left isolated and exposed. Every single one of our players who played in the pivot this season has come under insane criticism and even players who we know have the technical ability of great passers like Lampard have been accused of slowing down our attacks. But it is easy to criticize two isolated players who are often under pressure up against 4-5 opposition midfielders. But the problem, imo, is elsewhere; without denying that we do have some issues in the pivot.

Now, I think you are right that a lot of this is down to management mistakes, but I also think that the players themselves must share some of the blame. I don't wish to come across as cynical and unappreciative, but you already covered the parts about praising our young attacking midfielders and I agree with most of it. But I also think that what is best for them is that they not only receive praise, but also criticism as well so they can grow and develop as players. And atm, there are a few areas in the game of our young AMs that they NEED to work on if they are to reach the next level as players.

*: This is why I think that the work that Rafa done here was crucial to 'pave the way' for the work Jose needs to do. I wrote an article about this a couple of months ago explaining this more, but I wrote it before we won the EL and secured a CL spot so I was absolutely slated for it even though most people were saying the exact same thing less than a month later

PS: This came out way too long, sorry..

[Barbara 15,149]

@CHOULO19, I actually agree with you about everything, including that they need as players to develop certain aspects of their games.

We don't find Zinedine Zidane's too often, and the overwhelming majority of players need guidance because they seem alienated by their own talent and ideas of what they should do and where. that's why the managers - especially the ones like Mourinho that take their time to develop deficient areas in players - are so important! most of players can't think out of the box they see as their game.

I could blame them, but I actually don't. They need guidance, in general they aren't the smartest cookies out there and I'm aware of our players' flaws which is why I think people underestimate Oscar too much...

He's only 21 and he see the game differently from most.

I can't say much about Hazard - after all I know him only for his season in CFC - but he seems quite lazy and to sit over his talent, thinking that he just doesn't need to do anything defensively, as if it wasn't part of his job's scope. If that's indeed the case I don't even think he does it out of pride or laziness, it's just in general their vision of the game are quite limited to what they already know what to do.

Anyway, you added amazing points!

[mediator 2,026]

I don't really agree concerning the lazy attitude of Hazard.

He improved a lot from january and tracked back as soon as possible to help Cole to Cover the flank. Well he isn't a great tackler, but he helped a lot more.

If you take some whoscored stats into consideration, he made some interceptions and even some tackles almost every game from that period

http://www.whoscored.com/Teams/15

0.8 tackle and 1.1 intercpt / game that's not great but that didn't represent all the times he tracked back just to cover someone

[Barbara 15,149]

I don't really agree concerning the lazy attitude of Hazard.

He improved a lot from january and tracked back as soon as possible to help Cole to Cover the flank. Well he isn't a great tackler, but he helped a lot more.

If you take some whoscored stats into consideration, he made some interceptions and even some tackles almost every game from that period

http://www.whoscored.com/Teams/15

0.8 tackle and 1.1 intercpt / game that's not great but that didn't represent all the times he tracked back just to cover someone

I didn't mean lazy in staying quite, but in learning more things, I even mentioned down in the text that I don't think he's lazy to execute, but lazy to learn... he runs a lot in the pitch, but I feel like he doesn't think he needs to help much in the defense because he doesn't know how to tackle and he doesn't seem like wanting to learn.

I admit I express myself quite badly after all in the same paragraph I said he's lazy and not lazy, hahahahaha

Not lazy to play and go there, but lazy to learn. My bad, G.

(I'm sleep deprived this week. so sorry for the terrible english and writing, lol)

ps.: I can't trust a site that rates both Cahill and Torres better than Oscar... I don't even trust their stats, sorry

[Stingray 9,441]

I truly disagree about Hazard being lazy to learn. As you said you 'feel' this and i really think it is a prejudice of some sort. Hazard has evovled from being 'static' when losing the ball to tracking back up untill our corner post at times. He even put in a few professional fouls :-)

Also, he HAD to come pick up the ball lower on the pitch in the second half of the season due to being neglected a lot in attack .... I addressed this problem in thevmatchesthread a lot. He learned there as well.

Also .... After the blistering start people where complaining about his initiative, he chznged that as well and doubtedly became our best player by the end of the season.

I will get burned for this - but also adressed this in the Oscar thread - Oscar's learning curve has been flatter. Note i am not slating him or criticising. The bandwagon on the laziness of Hazard is way off. Be it running or learning. It bugs me about Hazard because in the case of Oscar the opposite is true. It is much more not done to even start critising him. Just compare the two threads. Of course one is a belgian 10 - the other a brazilian one. I dont want to dichotomise whatsoever - but it does create unconscious biases.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, I said in the beginning of the season when people thought Hazard was overpriced. He testee good :-J just wait untill next year to taste that pudding again.

[Strike 6,960]

I truly disagree about Hazard being lazy to learn. As you said you 'feel' this and i really think it is a prejudice of some sort. Hazard has evovled from being 'static' when losing the ball to tracking back up untill our corner post at times. He even put in a few professional fouls :-)

Also, he HAD to come pick up the ball lower on the pitch in the second half of the season due to being neglected a lot in attack .... I addressed this problem in thevmatchesthread a lot. He learned there as well.

Also .... After the blistering start people where complaining about his initiative, he chznged that as well and doubtedly became our best player by the end of the season.

^ I agree. There was a point under Robbie when our AM's were not putting their defensive shift in but since Benitez took over, we have basically defended with a flat midfield 4 with the wingers, usually Hazard and Oscar/Moses tucked back to close down opponents on the wing.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

^ I agree. There was a point under Robbie when our AM's were not putting their defensive shift in but since Benitez took over, we have basically defended with a flat midfield 4 with the wingers, usually Hazard and Oscar/Moses tucked back to close down opponents on the wing.

While I agree that Oscar and Hazard have improved under Rafa (they took the first steps), I still think they have to improve more, especially in a Jose Mourinho team. They need to make these improvements to become truly world-class. Look at Ribery for instance, his work-rate is amazing, he always tracks back and defends brilliant and he still manages to make contributions to the attacks similar to Hazard and Mata and Oscar. We need them to take a step in that direction or I fear that their game time will be limited under Jose.

I think Barbara may have a point about Hazard being a lazy learner. He said it himself that he does not like training. But I don't think it is entirely his fault. From what I've heard and read, his coaches at Lille never really pushed him in training.

[Barbara 15,149]

Well, Hazard is my fave, I bought his shirt (first time ever I buy a numbered international football shirt) so I agree he is our best...

I just feel he's lazy to learn... as Choulo said, he says training isn't really his cup of tea.

But well, Mourinho is a new level of management, we'll see the boys learning - one way or the other.

And the boys are TWENTY-ONE, let's not forget that. They aren't supposed to be ready yet.

[Stingray 9,441]

Well, Hazard is my fave, I bought his shirt (first time ever I buy a numbered international football shirt) so I agree he is our best...

I just feel he's lazy to learn... as Choulo said, he says training isn't really his cup of tea.

But well, Mourinho is a new level of management, we'll see the boys learning - one way or the other.

And the boys are TWENTY-ONE, let's not forget that. They aren't supposed to be ready yet.

Well, thats what I meant with bias and bandwagon.

He once said he dislikes physical training (running training). When it comes to ball training, he is very very much motivated - as testified by the NT coach who considered him to be 'constantly busy with football - a real pro'.

We should not take his 'joking' as he cannot be good/serious at his sport.

Shit, I joke a lot (understatement) - I hope you don't judge my book according to its cover :-)

Seriously : I think/know from what I hear and he tells to the media he puts a REAAAAAAL high standard to himself. Maybe even too much. So Lazy at learning (called a low learning orientation level btw) - nah.

[TrippingStep 336]

Well, Hazard is my fave, I bought his shirt (first time ever I buy a numbered international football shirt) so I agree he is our best...

I just feel he's lazy to learn... as Choulo said, he says training isn't really his cup of tea.

But well, Mourinho is a new level of management, we'll see the boys learning - one way or the other.

And the boys are TWENTY-ONE, let's not forget that. They aren't supposed to be ready yet.

Under Benitez, I feel that he has improved a lot.

While I agree that Oscar and Hazard have improved under Rafa (they took the first steps), I still think they have to improve more, especially in a Jose Mourinho team. They need to make these improvements to become truly world-class. Look at Ribery for instance, his work-rate is amazing, he always tracks back and defends brilliant and he still manages to make contributions to the attacks similar to Hazard and Mata and Oscar. We need them to take a step in that direction or I fear that their game time will be limited under Jose.

I think Barbara may have a point about Hazard being a lazy learner. He said it himself that he does not like training. But I don't think it is entirely his fault. From what I've heard and read, his coaches at Lille never really pushed him in training.

Under Benitez He learned a lot. His first real good coach he had I think.

After two three months with him, I saw a lot of changes on his game for the better. Nothing extraordinary but can see the work of a coach.

He was the ideal coach for him I think. At Inter, some players didn't like his professor attitude but I think for Eden, it was good and I think he has seen the benefits.

[TrippingStep 336]

Could someone do a Ramires analysis.

The fact the play was often going to the right more smoothly was due to the fact, Ramires offered more passing options to the right back and right midfield while on the left, the left back and left winger had less options.

Under Di Matteo, You could say it was due to the tactics and Hazard but unde Benitez, I think it was more due to the fact we had no midfieler ready to link the play.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Could someone do a Ramires analysis.

The fact the play was often going to the right more smoothly was due to the fact, Ramires offered more passing options to the right back and right midfield while on the left, the left back and left winger had less options.

Under Di Matteo, You could say it was due to the tactics and Hazard but unde Benitez, I think it was more due to the fact we had no midfieler ready to link the play.

Barbara did Ramires in her previous article. I think the reason why the ball used to flow better on the right side under Benitez is largely due to Azpi. Like I said in my post above, Banitez tried to implement a triangle involving the CBs, Fullbacks and pivot to get the ball out of defense. Azpi, having more stamina than Cole, made quite a lot of space for himself and got on the ball very often. He was our most influencial player in quite a lot of matches in terms of touches on the ball. There are games where Cesar had over 90 touches! Criminally underrated player..