Chelsea’s change of shape in-game is key

Chelsea beat Bournemouth 2-0 on Tuesday evening in their first game back later the World Cup interrupt. It was a much-needed win and a clean sheet after stumbling form and poor performances before the break.

There was one key element for me that I noticed that really helped Chelsea get the edge over Bournemouth and make it a pretty straightforward game for them in the end, and that was the in-game exchange of shape.

We are starting to see elements come into our play that has clearly been implemented by Graham Potter and his team, and the shape is one of them.

I also incorporated about four moves in the first half that Chelsea made that were quick one-touch passing that set us up for a savage within seconds. We have rarely seen this at Chelsea in recent seasons, with our possession play often being too slow and too labored.

It was 

invigorating to see some quick fluctuation and players also taking on those hard and riskier passes; that is what we need to be seeing much more, worrying less about keeping assets, and 

focusing more on our counter-press when we do lose that possession.

But as I say, it was the in-game change of shape that I actually noticed as being key to the win. Potter is audibly looking to play a back four as the backbone going forward, and in this game, we lined up in a 4-3-3.

The midfield was pretty 

stumbled, with Jorginho at the base, Denis Zakaria slightly ahead on the right, and Mason Mount ahead again on the left, having the most attacking part out of the three. It worked very well and provided good stability.

As you can see, it bounced more like a back three. Reece James almost plays as a right midfielder, and Marc Cucurella drops deeper as more of a center-back or a narrow full-back. Mount was steadily involved in the attack, and Zakaria and Jorgi dropped

vaguely.

Another key segment was Kai Havertz roaming in a free role. He played as a 9, but he kept dropping in deep to get on the ball and get complicated in build-up play, and this drew defenders out of place and permitted Raheem Sterling and Christian Pulisic to often utilize open spaces. James joining the ambush often as well really helped this, and most of our attacking hazards came from that side.

It’s sweet to see ‘Potter-ball’ if you like, starting to take shape. The change of shape is just one of the many things that he and his coaching team have been working on in teaching. And it’s evident they also have a real emphasis now on moving the ball forward much quicker and taking less time with mundane possession play going backward and sideways. There’s a time and place for both types of play of journey, and that’s why as always, balance is key, as is conclusion-making.

It’s all about getting numbers in attacking

locations to 

puncture and the 4-3-3 allow for that a lot better than other evolution. Midfield is key to this though, and I’d not be so confident without the physical and energetic presence of Zakaria in there bringing more defensive awareness.