Chelsea’s win over Everton on Saturday at Goodison Park to begin the season was certainly welcome, but it was hardly a stellar performance — it was just “okay” as per the head coach — and it showcased a lot of familiar issues from last season, especially with the largely ineffective attack.
As it turns out, there is at least one good reason for that. Two in fact. Neither Reece James nor Ben Chilwell were fully fit for the game, which, as we learned last season, can be a massive problem for a system predicated on the play of the wing-backs.
“Today we played with Ben Chilwell who was not, for me, 100 per cent ready to start but the situation with Marcos Alonso [soon to leave for Barcelona] and the late signing of Marc Cucurella made it necessary that we took the risk.
“Reece [James] struggles also at the moment to have full, full fitness so on the right we didn’t have enough from the wing backs to create a bit more freedom for the inner players.”
-Thomas Tuchel; source: Evening Standard
While presumably James will reach full fitness sooner rather than later — and maybe put in some extra corner-taking practice — Chilwell’s fitness is something to watch closely. As great as it is that he’s back, he’s coming off of a major injury and one that even with modern medical techniques and rehab can have a lasting, career-changing effect. The fact that Chelsea spent massively on another left back further underlines this situation, even if Marc Cucurella can deputize as a center-back as well.
Our next game is against Antonio Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur. Whoever wins the battle of the wing-backs just might get three important early points.
I was making my way north from the Sonoran Desert, through the Coconino Forest, to the South Rim. In front of me, the Grandest of Canyons. On my radio, the grandest of Chelsea performances. Four goals without reply against the Old Lady, which on rewatch as a nightcap, was as dominant a performance against top-class opposition as we’ve ever seen at Stamford Bridge.
The win however did not come without cost. N’Golo Kanté was withdrawn in the first-half as precaution for a potential knee problem, and while he may have avoided serious damager, the same cannot be said for Ben Chilwell. While not yet officially confirmed, it seems almost a certainty that he will miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury. It certainly “looked” like an ACL injury, triggering my PTSD. And those of us who have had to deal with this injury first-hand — and are not named Antonio Rüdiger — also know that full recovery can take up to two years.
Fortunately, these days ACL injuries are not career-ending. Chilwell will be back, aged 25, and perhaps even stronger than ever, with an upgrade to the tendons in question. But until he returns, hopefully in time for next season and the 2022 World Cup, Chelsea will have to cope without him.
So how will we do that? There’s no need to panic; we have plenty of good options.
Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images
MARCOS ALONSO
The obvious replacement is Marcos Alonso, who has not seen much action recently, but was practically ever-present the first couple months of the season while Chilwell was getting himself into playing shape physically and mentally.
Alonso started our first six Premier League games and the Juve match was the first Champions League match in which he did not feature. He has one goal and one assist and has captained the side twice in his twelve total appearances. He is a perfect fit for the wing-back role and while not quite as dynamic as Chilwell, he will undoubtedly do well. We have only lost four games he started under Tuchel (including, unfortunately, last year’s FA Cup final).
Alonso has 18 months left on a long-term contract he signed back in 2018 that at times had seen ill-advised, but he’s one of the longest serving players on the team at this point as he closes in on 200 club appearances. There’s little question of his qualifications or suitability. The questions start behind and below him.
Photo by Filippo Alfero – Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images
CÉSAR AZPILICUETA
The in-game replacement for Chilwell on Tuesday was not Alonso but Azpilicueta. Alonso was initially called on to get ready, but with the game well in hand at 3-0, told to sit down perhaps to not risk another injury.
Azpilicueta is certainly versatile enough to fill in at left wing-back, but he’s already a downgrade offensively on his natural right side and would essentially be a purely defensive option on the left. That might be a useful option at times, but we probably won’t see him start too many games.
CALLUM HUDSON-ODOI / CHRISTIAN PULISIC
On the opposite end of the Azpi spectrum, we could see Hudson-Odoi or Pulisic play at wing-back as purely attacking options. Hudson-Odoi has plenty of experience at this point playing the role on the right flank, and switching to the left would be a small adjustment. Tuchel has also spoken of Pulisic’s versatility in a similar vein.
Again, not ideal options, but options that could be useful in specific situation.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
EMERSON
Emerson Palmieri is on loan at Olympique Lyonnais this season and has been ever-present for them since joining after a four-minute cameo in our opening Premier League match. The 27-year-old extended his Chelsea contract by a year before leaving, though Lyon also have a €15m buy-option.
Unfortunately, it’s unclear if Chelsea have a recall option, though most loans can be broken during transfer windows regardless of initial agreements — i.e. even if we do not have an express option, we can negotiate one perhaps by refunding loan fees, paying “penalties” in a sense, etc. If there is a will, there is a way.
Would there be a will? That’s a much tougher question.
Emerson hardly featured under Tuchel last season — literally two minutes in two Champions League cameos (he did score once!) and zero Premier League minutes — while he’s been a key player for Lyon. But if he can be convinced to be Alonso’s backup for the rest of the season, he would be a no-brainer (re-)addition to the squad. He’s already familiar with the system as well.
Photo by David Davies/PA Images via Getty Images
IAN MAATSEN
Maatsen upgraded his loan from League One-level last season at Charlton Athletic to Championship-level this season at Coventry City, and he’s hardly missed a beat. Just 19, the teenager’s been impressing, and we apparently do have a recall clause. Coventry are reportedly already concerned by his potential departure.
The risk with recalling Maatsen is the obvious one regarding his development. He would probably be better served by staying and playing, though if he’s deemed ready to make the jump, this could be his Chalobah-moment. Alonso can’t and won’t play every game.
JUAN FAMILIA-CASTILLO
Another young left back on loan, also in the Championship. Castillo has however hardly featured for Birmingham City, just four appearances so far this season, so recalling him in January might be a necessity anyway.
Castillo, who arrived from Ajax’s academy in 2016, has looked a foot out the door for a while, though he’s still just 21 and maybe this is his unexpected chance to stake a claim?
BABA RAHMAN
We should not forget about Baba, who finally looks over his series of knee injuries and featuring regularly for Reading, also in the Championship, as well as for the Ghana National Team. If Emerson can’t (or won’t) come back, and we decide the Maatsen is better served by staying at Coventry, could Baba yet get his own unexpected chance at Chelsea? Stranger things have happened…
George NunnPhoto by Clive Howes – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
THE ACADEMY
Unsurprisingly, there are multiple young players just waiting in the wings. Whether they are ready is another question, but we only have to look at Valention Livramento at Southampton (or Tariq Lamptey at Brighton) for players able to make the jump immediately at a very young age.
George Nunn, who just turned 20, has been featuring as the left wing-back for the U23s in the EFL Trophy, while Silko Thomas, just 17, has done the same a few times for the U19s in the UEFA Youth League, as has fellow 17-year-old Lewis Hall. It wouldn’t surprise me if Nunn proved capable in Cup games, for example.
(There’s a ton of versatility in the Academy, too, it should be noted, which has seen Harvey Vale play on the left flank at times as well, for what it’s worth.)
TRANSFER MARKET
We’re talking about Chelsea here, so of course we’ll be linked with any and all available (and probably not available) left backs as well. AC Milan’s Theo Hernández is the first in that line, though Chilwell will be back, and perhaps sooner than prognosticated, so spending untold millions on a short-term solution would not make much sense. In years past, I’d say that means we’ll do it anyway, but our business these days seems more targeted and sensical, so hopefully this section stays a footnote.
This is what revenge looks like but, moreover, what can happen when the Chelsea juggernaut is able to ramp up. After a first half of near total control, when Trevoh Chalobah’s crashed finish on the half-volley represented scant reward, Thomas Tuchel could revel in how his team simply flattened Juventus to ensure their qualification to the Champions League last 16. If they win at Zenit St Petersburg next month, they will advance as seeded group winners.
Perhaps Chelsea had been stung by the manner of their 1-0 loss in Turin at the end of September. More likely, they were intent on sending out a message. They do not intend to relinquish their grip on the trophy they won last season.
The decisive blows came in quick succession before the hour mark and, at that point, Tuchel was charging on to the pitch in celebration and Juve’s players looked as if they did not know what had hit them.
Part of the answer was Reece James, the player who, in the words of his England manager, Gareth Southgate, can be “anything he wants to be.” Here, the wing-back was provider and finisher, wowing with his passing and shooting and, at all times, his strength and composure. As the second half played out and Juve’s misery deepened, James seemed to be enjoying his team’s supremacy, his supremacy. There were some impudent embellishments from him.
He was not alone. Hakim Ziyech was excellent while Callum Hudson-Odoi got the goal that the sharpness of his performance deserved. And for the icing on the cake? Look no further than Timo Werner’s stoppage-time fourth, touched home from Ziyech’s cross, the moment that condemned Juventus to their heaviest defeat in this competition. Werner had come on as a substitute for his first action since an ankle problem five weeks ago and the only blots for Tuchel were the knee injuries that forced off N’Golo Kanté and Ben Chilwell. The latter could barely put any weight on his leg as he was helped from the field.
James ignited the occasion with his goal for 2-0. He controlled a Chilwell cross which had flicked off Matthijs de Ligt before thrashing a shot back into the far corner and he was involved in the third which came minutes later.
Juventus’s heads were spinning when James touched a crossfield ball from Antonio Rüdiger back inside his standing foot and then found Ziyech, who moved it on to the substitute, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, inside the area.
Ben Chilwell injured a knee and was taken off. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
Loftus-Cheek’s feet were too quick for the defenders and he teed up Hudson-Odoi. Chalobah, James, Hudson-Odoi. It was a glorious one-two-three for the Chelsea academy.
Chelsea have missed only one win since the defeat in Turin – the shock 1-1 home draw with Burnley – and this was a night when Tuchel got virtually every detail of his tactics spot on.
With Romelu Lukaku fit enough to be named only as a substitute on his return from an ankle problem (he would remain there), Werner also on the bench and Kai Havertz out with hamstring damage, Tuchel had to improvise up front. He started Christian Pulisic as the false nine to mixed results but Chelsea buzzed around him from the first whistle.
Ziyech had the licence to drift inside from the right and it was noticeable how high Kanté pushed from midfield, dominating the space that his teammate vacated before his departure on 37 minutes.
Chelsea’s tempo was slick, their pressing suffocating and, if there was an element of scruffiness about the breakthrough, it was nonetheless merited. Ziyech’s corner flicked off Adrien Rabiot and cannoned into the forearm of Rüdiger, who had jumped as part of a posse, before breaking kindly for Chalobah. Juventus wanted handball against Rüdiger but he had no time to react. Leonardo Bonucci also appealed in vain for a push on him by Jorginho and Chalobah’s finish was a beauty.
If teams are to create a chance against this miserly Chelsea defence, they had better take it and Álvaro Morata, booed on his return to Stamford Bridge, thought he had done so in the 28th minute, spinning on to Manuel Locatelli’s ball and lifting up and over the advancing Édouard Mendy.
Enter Thiago Silva with a wonderful stretching clearance from in front of his goalline. It would be the only time that the visitors truly threatened. Chelsea, by contrast, created a fistful of chances, with Chilwell going close early on and James twice extending Szczesny before half-time.
Hudson-Odoi (twice) and Silva almost scored at the start of the second period and Juventus could be grateful to Szczesny, who denied Ziyech in a one-on-one near the end.
The Champions League is back, though Chelsea couldn’t have drawn a tougher opponent than Atlético Madrid. The La Liga leaders may very well represent Thomas Tuchel’s biggest challenge of the season, with tactics and team selection having to be inch perfect. Chelsea could certainly do with a first quarter-final since 2014.
THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE
There weren’t any surprises in the lineup as the WAGNH community stuck to the 3-4-3, with the likes of the 4-2-3-1 (12%) and 4-3-3 (9%) far behind. Simlarly, Édouard Mendy continues to not be troubled by Kepa Arrizabalaga (6%).
With Thiago Silva still out, a back three of Toni Rüdiger, Andreas Christensen and César Azpilicueta should work quite well. Kurt Zouma (46%) returns to the bench. Ben Chilwell is preferred to Marcos Alonso (40%) at wing-back after a poor performance from the latter over the weekend. On the other flank, it’s Reece James who has no competition with Callum Hudson-Odoi playing up front.
The N’Golo Kanté and Mateo Kovačić pivot weren’t at their best as Southampton held Chelsea to a draw on Saturday, but Jorginho (40%) once again misses out, with Billy Gilmour (2%) little more than an afterthought.
Hakim Ziyech (15%) was way off the pace on Saturday and the community reacted accordingly by favouring Mason Mount and Hudson-Odoi ahead of him. Christian Pulisic (38%) and Kai Havertz (25%) are just coming back from injury, and so the voters saw no need to rush them back. Timo Werner leads the line ahead of Tammy Abraham (14%) and Olivier Giroud (38%).
3-4-3 (73%) Mendy (93%) | Rüdiger (85%), Christensen (66%), Azpilicueta (80%) | Chilwell (57%), Kanté (74%), Kovačić (82%), James (60%) | Hudson-Odoi (63%), Werner (83%), Mount (91%)
MY PREFERRED CHOICE
Yes, I’m sticking with Jorginho. The team feels unbalanced without him on the field, especially since switching to Tuchel’s system. While Kanté should also be useful against opposition that tries to catch you on the break, yet I get the feeling that we’ll be in dire need of Jorginho here.
I was a little on the fence about who should start up front. Giroud seems a shrewd choice against a physical and deep-lying team like Atlético, but I understand why the community ended up sticking with Werner even if I don’t really see how he will fare any better against that strong of a defense. I hope I’m wrong.
I also kept Alonso in the side despite his recent poor display as my gut tells me he’ll turn up against Diego Simeone’s men. A little more height in the side wouldn’t be too bad, either.
3-4-3 Mendy | Rüdiger, Christensen, Azpilicueta | Alonso, Jorginho, Kovačić, James | Hudson-Odoi, Giroud, Mount