The tactics behind a frenetic Chelsea win at Spurs

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Extraordinary would be a fair description of this London derby. Five goals, five disallowed goals, two red cards, two key injuries and nine VAR checks only begin to tell the story of a dramatic night at the Tottenham Stadium.

It began well for the home team, with Dejan Kulusevski’s sixth-minute shot deflecting in off Chelsea defender Levi Colwill. A magnificent, sweeping move eight minutes later culminated in Son Heung-min tucking the ball away, only for it to be ruled out for offside. It seemed a matter of time before Tottenham got their second.

Then, on 18 minutes, Destiny Udogie caught Raheem Sterling with a sliding tackle. He may have been lucky to escape red, but it was a reprieve that did not last. Three minutes later, Sterling had a goal chalked off for handball. Moisés Caicedo then had a long-range effort ruled out for offside, but VAR spotted a red-card offence by Cristian Romero in the build-up. Cole Palmer duly equalised from the spot, and suddenly Chelsea were level against 10 players.

There was still time in the first half for Nicolas Jackson to have a goal ruled out, and for Tottenham to lose both Micky van de Ven and James Maddison to injury. It got worse for them after 55 minutes, when Udogie was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence.

A few games previous, Tottenham squeezed past nine-man Liverpool with a last-gasp own goal. On that occasion, Liverpool had settled into a low block and defended for their lives. In contrast, Ange Postecoglou’s nine players dared to persist with a high line.

Still, it took Chelsea until 75 minutes to take the lead. Even then, Tottenham came within a whisker of equalising when Eric Dier’s volley was ruled out for offside. The belief Postecoglou has restored to Spurs was evident, with a miraculous point seemingly still on the table. It wasn’t to be, however, as Jackson and Chelsea eventually took full advantage of the situation.

How the managers saw it

“It’s a hard game to analyse, but in terms of effort, will and determination it was an outstanding effort by the lads,” said Postecoglou. “We started really well, scored a good goal, then we were inches away from scoring a good second, but it was offside. Then the game got out of control, there was a lot happening that made the game a little bit not within the parameters we want to play.”

“I think we deserved to win,” said Mauricio Pochettino. “We forced them to make too many mistakes. Tottenham was better in the first 15 minutes and then I think we bossed the game. Our performance was good and forced them into making mistakes.”

Below, our UEFA-licensed coaches have picked out the key tactical points from the game…

Starting line-ups

Tottenham HotspurChelsea

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Tottenham Hotspur4-2-3-1

Chelsea4-2-3-1

13Guglielmo Vicario

1Robert Sánchez

38Destiny Udogie

24Reece James

37Micky van de Ven

2Axel Disasi

17Cristian Romero

6Thiago Silva

23Pedro Porro

26Levi Colwill

8Yves Bissouma

25Moisés Caicedo

29Pape Matar Sarr

8Enzo Fernández

22Brennan Johnson

20Cole Palmer

10James Maddison

23Conor Gallagher

21Dejan Kulusevski

7Raheem Sterling

7Son Heung-min

15Nicolas Jackson

Tottenham’s central overloads

In their initial 4-2-3-1 structure, Tottenham’s rotations in central midfield caused Chelsea early problems – to the point that Maddison was initially man-marked by one of the visitors’ double pivot. Left-back Udogie moved inside, especially when Cole Palmer jumped to press Tottenham’s centre-backs.

When Maddison widened, he and Udogie pulled Chelsea’s double pivot over to Tottenham’s left (below). From here, Spurs found their central overload, using Pape Matar Sarr or the inverting Pedro Porro in the far inside channel. This provided a strong platform from which to find their front trio, who pinned Chelsea’s back four.

Tottenham’s right side worked in a similar fashion, aiming to pull Chelsea’s central-midfield trio over to the ball. Quick passing combinations helped them maintain possession in tight spaces, further drawing Chelsea over to one side. The main difference on this side was that Maddison didn’t move wide as often, instead working higher around Son between the lines (below).

Udogie continued to narrow (above), often catching his direct opponent Palmer out of shape, forcing Reece James to defend narrower as a result. Brennan Johnson held the width on Spurs’ left, providing an outlet to progress into the final third, as the home side dominated the opening exchanges.

Chelsea’s adapted press

After Son’s strike was ruled out for offside, Chelsea quickly got their act together. This stemmed initially from their improved pressing shape. Chelsea began to regain the ball higher, from where they could work it into dangerous areas with more purpose.

Conor Gallagher positioned himself high when pressing, to join Nicolas Jackson around Tottenham’s centre-backs (below). With at least one of the hosts’ full-backs narrow on a high Chelsea regain, space was then available for Palmer or Sterling to receive and drive. The double pivot of Enzo Fernández and Moises Caicedo supported underneath, providing shots from range. With this, Chelsea began a sustained period of pressure.

Soon, Chelsea adapted their 4-4-2 press to place extra numbers high, which stopped Tottenham from creating a free man in central midfield. Gallagher and Jackson continued to jump on to Spurs’s centre-backs, with Fernández taking care of the deepest pivot (below).

Palmer became much more consistent in his tracking of full-back runs, with Sterling doing the same on his side. Colwill pressed high and inside (above), forming a temporary double pivot with Caicedo to deal with Spurs’ attacking midfielders. Thiago Silva then took over Kulusevski, as the visitors committed more pressing numbers higher. With regains higher up the pitch, Chelsea shifted momentum in the game. 

Spurs’ high back line

Despite going down to 10 men and losing both Van der Ven and Maddison to injury, Spurs continued to defend with a very high back line (below).

Chelsea wingers Sterling and Palmer, and central forward Jackson, provided regular runs in behind from their 4-2-3-1 shape (above). The timing and relationship between the passer and runner was poor, however, with Chelsea far too eager to get in behind. To Pochettino’s obvious frustration, they neglected to patiently move the ball for longer spells before finding Sterling, who had a pace advantage over Porro. 

Despite having a second defender sent off after 55 minutes, the home side maintained their high back line throughout most of the second period. Pochettino moved Sterling to the right, where he connected closely with Palmer in Chelsea’s brightest attacking duo (below). James and Caicedo provided further support.

Mykhailo Mudryk was introduced on the left after 58 minutes, providing fresh pace against the tiring Porro. Marc Cucurella and Gallagher supported Mudryk inside. With just Axel Disasi and Silva sweeping from underneath, Chelsea began to work the ball much more effectively, taking advantage of overloads almost everywhere on the pitch.

Chelsea probed and manipulated Tottenham’s back line as the second half progressed, better timing their movements to remain onside. Despite a spirited effort from Tottenham’s nine players, Nicolas Jackson eventually cashed in Chelsea’s two-player advantage with a hat-trick.

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Author: The Coaches' Voice