Analysis - Chelsea 3-1 Wolves: Chalobah Shines as Blues Reclaim Top 4 Spot
Chelsea Ends Winless Streak with Commanding Performance Against Wolves to Reclaim Top 4 Spot in Premier League
Chelsea ended a five-game Premier League winless streak with a 3-1 victory over Wolves at Stamford Bridge. The Blues were in control for the better part of the first half and enjoyed a one goal lead from Tosin Adarabioyo’s goal in the 24th minute. Coming from a corner, Reece James took a shot in a sea of yellow shirts. The ball bounced, reaching Tosin, who was at the edge of offside. By the end of the first half, the Wolves were putting on the pressure and, even though they had only one shot on target, they leveled the score by halftime.
By the hour mark, Cucurella put Chelsea back on top with a well timed and clever run, delivering a difficult finish to beat Jose Sa, and five minutes later, the game was sealed after another corner which saw Trevor Chalobah rising and heading it into the net. Although the goal is credited to Noni Madueke, he pushed it in, after Chalobah’s header already beat the goalkeeper.
Chelsea’s Lineup and Setup
Enzo Maresca chose a different lineup against Wolves. We have Robert Sanchez in goal and Reece James took up his spot on the right while Marc Cucurella played as left-back. This game saw the return of Trevor Chalobah to Stamford bridge, pairing up with Tosin Adarabioyo. Moises Caicedo and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall were Chelsea’s two pivots, in the absence of both Romeo Lavia and Enzo Fernandez.
Offensively, Maresca opted to start Pedro Neto on the left wing against his former team, while Noni Madueke took up the right winger role. Although Madueke has not been a consistent starter for the Blues, his performance against Wolverhampton, scoring a hat-trick at Molineux, is what might have promoted this change. Cole Palmer played a more central role, occupying the upper-central area of the pitch, while Nicolas Jackson was Chelsea’s number 9.
Chelsea in Possession
How did Chelsea look in possession and how did the Blues build-up? Against Wolverhampton, Reece James played a more traditional full-back role, sticking to the right side of the pitch, forming a back three together with Chalobah and Adarabioyo. In front of the back three, we see Moises Caicedo, sometimes helped by the inverting Marc Cucurella. Although Cucurella inverted, Moises Caicedo was more akin to a lone pivot while Cucurella inverted higher up in the pitch.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s other pivot, Dewsbury-Hall, took Cole Palmer’s positioning on the right side of the pitch, pairing up with Noni Madueke. He mainly operated in the right half space, while Cole Palmer took more of a central role and focused on the central and left half-space, akin to what Enzo Fernandez would do in a typical game. Meanwhile, on the other side of the pitch, Pedro Neto provided width, sticking to the touchline, while Cucurella operated in the half space and attacked the box, trying to produce combinations and cutbacks.
Both Cucurella and Dewsbury-Hall advanced in the later stages of the build-up, leaving Caicedo as a lone pivot at the back, to create numerical superiority against Wolves’ back five.
Left Jab, Right Cross
The first 30 minutes saw Chelsea clearly in control of the game. After 30 minutes, the Blues enjoyed their 73.4% share of possession while limiting Wolverhampton to only one shot and a mere 7 entries into the final third. This was also because of Wolverhampton’s more passive approach, sitting in a 5-2-3 formation out of possession, without pressuring Chelsea’s build-up play.
The clear tactical pattern that emerged in the first half was the attempted isolation of Noni Madueke on the right wing, launching him into one-on-one situations with switches and long balls. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s presence in the right half-space and closer to Madueke, always threatening to cut inside, was an important rotation in drawing defenders from Madueke, preventing doubling on the right wing.
Decisive Set Pieces, Wolves Concede Twice
Although relatively successful at taking on his opponent and crossing, with a total xA of 0.4 and one successful cross out of seven attempted Noni Madueke did not score the opening goal. It came from a set piece. As I also discussed in my preview of this game, Wolverhampton is very vulnerable at set piece, being the team with the most goals conceded from such situations.
After a cross targeting the middle of the six-yard box, the ball was deflected to a completely unmarked Reece James at the edge of the penalty area. Luckily (or not…) for the Wolves, Chelsea’s captain could not shoot directly and he needed a first touch to control it. He shot in the sea of yellow shirts in the box, and it bounced towards an almost left behind Tosin Adarabioyo who smashed it in. He did not rush to celebrate as he believed he was offside and the flag was raised, but after a VAR review, he was concluded to be just onside.
After a cross targeting the middle of the six-yard box, the ball was deflected to a completely unmarked Reece James at the edge of the penalty area. Luckily (or not…) for the Wolves, Chelsea’s captain could not shoot directly and he needed a first touch to control it. He shot in the sea of yellow shirts in the box, and it bounced towards an almost left behind Tosin Adarabioyo who smashed it in. He did not rush to celebrate as he believed he was offside and the flag was raised, but after a VAR review, he was concluded to be just onside.
The last goal also came from a set piece. It was an indirect free kick, just a few feet in front of the corner spot. Cole Palmer crossed it towards the far post, where Trevor Chalobah easily slipped unmarked. He jumped over Nélson Semedo to put in a header and beat Jose Sa. Noni Madueke pushed the ball when it was just in front of the goal line, claiming it on the scoreboard, leaving Chalobah with an assist, yet it was Trevor who won his duel with Semedo.
Although Chelsea is by no means a set-piece powerhouse, having scored only six times from set pieces, and two of those goals were direct free kicks taken by Palmer and Reece James, Wolverhanpton’s poor defending in these scenarios gave Chelsea a 33% bump in this statistic.
Who Needs Strikers Anyways?
It was a quiet game for Nicolas Jackson, who had two shots, marking the beginning and the end of the game. Chelsea’s struggles somewhat started when Nicolas Jackson stopped scoring consistently, hence Enzo Maresca’s call on wingers to be more present in front of the goal and share the scoring responsibilities. Although Noni Madueke has produced some shots, amounting to an xG of 0.21 (excluding the “goal” which had an xG of 0.97), Chelsea’s wingers contributed to crosses. This is another area where Chelsea are missing a box number 9, who can actually fight and finish those crosses.
But in this game, we saw another defender stepping up and filling in those goal scoring responsibilities. Chelsea’s second goal came from Marc Cucurella intercepting the ball in midfield to launch Cole Palmer. Although he struggled and the attack slowed down a bit, Palmer sent it to Madueke on the wing, who was again isolated. Uncontested, he crossed it in the box for Dewsbury-Hall. He deflected it to find Cucurella, who made an attacking run through the left half-space, positioning himself perfectly to deliver a tight finish.
Trevor Chalobah Shines in his Return to Stamford Bridge
Chalobah’s return show why it was an excellent decision to recall him and an awful one at letting him go on load. It makes you wonder how many goals could Chelsea have avoided with his presence? He made several decisive interventions, contesting Larsen and others who threatened Chelsea’s box. He only lost one aerial and one ground duel, all while misplacing only four passes.
Apart from his goal, oops, sorry, assist, another thing I really loved was seeing him exploiting space when he saw it during build up. Recording two progressive carries and three progressive passes, Chalobah helped the Blues progress the ball in the Wolves’ half and was a stable point during their build-up. This can be beautifully seen looking at Chelsea’s passing network, where we observe not only the amount of passes that involved Trevor but also his collaboration with Palmer.
In his central position, Cole Palmer dropped deep to help during the build up play, and Trevor Chalobah spotted him often and zipped a pass, breaking through the first line of Wolverhampton pressing. This aspect can be observed on the passing network by looking at the xT. No other passing lane generated more threat than the one between Trevor Chalobah and Cole Palmer.
Reece James Feels Like He Never Left
It is truly an admirable thing to miss so much, and then slot perfectly back in. Reece James played 77 minutes before being substituted by Axel Dissasi. In this game, he stuck to a traditional full by role, but provided fluidity and safety in the back line. That was a few decisive tackles where Reece James heavily contested Wolverhampton. But the best part of James’ performance was his fluidity and his progression with the ball. There was a heroic moment at the end of the first half, with Reece James heavily under pressure, but he stuck with the ball, progressed it and forced a foul to keep possession, being composed during Wolves’ dangerous press.
He collaborated well with Dewsbury-Hall when he dropped into the left lower pocket and managed the most progressive passes in the game (9), tied with Matheus Cunha. A much needed presence. Hopefully he will steer clear of injuries and bring stability and fluidity to Chelsea’s back line.
Where is Cole Palmer?
The biggest downside to how Enzo Maresca has set up the team against Wolves is Cole Palmer’s limited influence. Palmer is a player who thrives in the pocket and in the half-space. He needs space and angles to shoot, and although he can create them, it is much more difficult to do so when in a crowded space such as centrally. Also, with Dewsbury-Hall on the right wing, Cole Palmer was forced to drift left, which limits his shooting capabilities as a left-footed player.
Conclusions
It was a great and welcomed performance by the Blues, who are now back in the 4th spot, 2 points ahead of Newcastle. Recalling Trevor Chalobah had an immediate impact on Chelsea on both sides of the pitch. This ends the Blues’ winless streak, after they successfully exploited Wolverhampton’s set piece weaknesses. Mostly in control, Chelsea conceded in the last 15 minutes of the first half, after Wolverhampton increased their pressure and actively contested the build up. Chelsea will travel to Manchester, to meet City in the next round, then back at Stamford Bridge against West Ham, followed by two trips at Brighton in the FA Cup and Premier League.
What did you think of the Blues’ performance against Wolverhampton? Are you happy with Enzo Maresca’s deployed system, even if it limited Cole Palmer? Has Chalobah done enough to become uncontestable at Chelsea? Let’s discuss in the comments and thank you for reading Simply Blues!