Chelsea’s problems hidden behind the facade of Mourinho’s tactics?
Chelsea always park the bus and play counter attack when they meet top teams away from home, while they manage to play good attacking football at Stamford Bridge but by conceding goals. This season, Chelsea typically played a defensive game against Man City at the Etihad and it worked out very well until the final five minutes, when their own legend Frank Lampard, who now plays for Man City, scored the equalizer. Why do Chelsea, despite their strength, play really cautiously, especially during away games? Here is a brief analysis on why Mourinho must be doing so.
1. Chelsea’s lack of pace at the back
Terry and Ivanovic are slow in their respective positions while Cahill and Azpilicueta have decent pace. While playing attacking football, Chelsea need to press higher up the field, but Chelsea’s defence is not capable of maintaining solidity with a high defensive line. Terry and Cahill struggle with counter attacks as Terry is always lagging behind. Hence, it is more or less clear why Mourinho doesn’t have confidence to take the game to top away opponents.
When Terry and Cahill try pressing the ball higher, they leave space behind their defence which is there for all to attack. Also, they create a lot of space ahead of them as well, when we apply the basic concept of inertia of moving players. Terry and Cahill aren’t that agile to keep changing body movements to match that of a dribbler. They’ll rather back off and attempt a clean lat ditch tackle.