THERE ARE ONLY two real tactical options for Chelsea to choose from (yes, I total skip the whole introduction stating how important and historic this game is). Since di Matteo became the manager (notice how I didn't say "interim"?), Chelsea has either played with a counter-attacking 4-2-3-1 or a defensive (thus, only attacking option is counter attack) 4-5-1. Both of these have been used successfully in the cup competitions. The 4-2-3-1 literally worked miracles in the second leg against Napoli, while the 4-5-1 pulled off equally impressive results against Barcelona.
As far as I'm concerned, these are the only two viable options Chelsea has against Bayern (unless di Matteo has gigantic balls to bring on a totally new tactical shift just for the final). So which one should/will RDM pick?
Bayern Munich are not Barcelona
Some suggest Chelsea go with 4-5-1 like they did against Barcelona. Sit deep with three central midfielders in front of the back four, absorb pressure and counter. It worked against the "best team in the world"; it will work against Bayern Munich.
This makes sense to a certain extent -- mainly because of the nature of Bayern's "wingers." Both Robben and Ribery are playing as inverted wingers (i.e. left-footed on right wing and right-footed on left wing), which means they drift in toward the center more often than not; Bayern relies on their fullback to provide width. So in Bayern's attack, a central striker, an attacking midfielder and two wingers moving into that central zone (not implying that this will always be the case), making that area rather crowded. By having 3 central midfielders in that zone, Chelsea can choke Bayern's attack centrally. It worked great against Barcelona who insisted on attacking through the center.
But Bayern has what Barcelona lacks -- aerial threat. If Chelsea crowds the center and allowed Bayern fullbacks to run riot on the flanks, Gomez will be in the box to attack all kinds of crosses. The suspension of Alaba should make things easier for Chelsea's defense but Lahm will be looking for Gomez every chance he gets. The last 30 minutes of the FA Cup final against Liverpool has shown how dangerous it is to allow the opposition to operate on the wide areas when they have a target to aim in the center (it needed Cech's brilliant save to win that game in regular time).
Additionally, Bayern doesn't hog the ball like Barca does, which means Chelsea will get chances to attack. Couple that with the fact that Bayern will be missing some of their key defensive players, it makes better sense to be a little more proactive. But Chelsea can't exactly go Dortmund on them (i.e. press hard and force them into silly mistakes), strictly because Chelsea cannot press as well as those in yellow and black did in the German Cup final.
That means Chelsea needs a formation (and a strategy) that is defensively compact but is also able transition from defense to attack quickly. The counter-attacking 4-2-3-1 with Mata slightly behind Drogba gives you exactly that! The Mata's ability to operated (dribble, hold the ball and make passes) under great pressure will be fully utilized in this set up (whereas he was totally redundant as a winger in 4-5-1 against Barcelona).
SO, I GUESS I'm endorsing the counter-attacking 4-2-3-1 approach (I should come up with a more polarizing title next time). What do YOU think? Defensive 4-5-1? Counter attacking 4-2-3-1? Or other random formation and tactics that RDM probably wouldn't use?
Carefree, wherever you may be...
CHelsea need to play 4-1-2-1-2 cuz sturridge is not in form and kalou is bad...so cech cahill luiz a.cole bosingwa ..then mikel defensife midfield...then lampard and essien central midfields and mata attacking midfield..and torres and drogba should play up front..and i think they will do a great job...no matter recent games..cuz both players are in form...so chelsea need to attack from the center..mata must play at his best and give execelent passes to torres and drogba..and every other in the midfield must play at their best cuzzz bayern have realy strong midfield...and its also good cuz if boateng is on drogba..then torres can easlly go past tymoshuck his slow...and i have watched him couple of times...and hes not very good in the air...so chelsea will have big advantage in attack..plus boateng is not good as world class defenders.....in defensive tactics chelsea must stop ribery and robben..bosingwa must step up his game and do everything to stop ribery with the help of essien on the othher side a.cole will stop robben with the help of lampard...mata needs to track back torres too..and if ball is in robben essien mikel mata in the center in front of central defenders.....and mikel must play like he did against barca..so chelsea will do good with this formation i think...comments ?
ReplyDeleteInteresting thought experiment. You are suggesting some kind of a 4-diamond-2 formation. I like that it will mean we will have more players in midfield. But I think it will get stretched as Bayern fullbacks come forward. Possibly Lampard and Essien will track them, which leaves Mikel pretty alone in the center. but I think we are both in agreement that Chelsea should be more positive and try to attack rather than sit back as they did against Barcelona.
ReplyDeleteI had this idea of a 4-3-1-2. We would have a backline of Bosingwa, Cahill, Luiz (assuming they're both fit to play, it seems like they are) and Cole. A midfield trio of Essien, Lampard and Mikel. Mata in the hole with Torres and Drogba upfront. Hear me here.
ReplyDeleteWith Torres and Drogba playing together upfront, we could possibly create a large problem for Bayern. At least one of their full backs will have to hold their position to make sure that they are not left exposed at the back and with Juan Mata playing in behind them, Bastien Schweinsteiger will have to sacrifice his attacking instincts and cover Mata's position.
Lampard, Mikel and Essien would, as quick as possible, play the ball to Mata or someone else of the trio upfront. The midfield would sit quite deep, in front of the defensive line and leave the creating to the players upfront, which would mean that Bayern should be forced to go backwards.
The problem here is that the wings would be quite free for Bayern, and that's the worst thing we could possibly do. While the 4-3-1-2, would be fantastic going forward, against their weakened back four, our fullbacks would be unsupported and given the runaround by deadly men like Robben and Ribery. And that's the reason we're going to go for a 4-2-3-1 (well I would). I think we can all expect Kalou and Malouda (possibly Sturridge?) playing in the wings, supporting the defence and working hard, tracking back the likes of Robben and Ribery. Lamps and Mikel sitting in front of the back four and Mata 'waving' his magical left boot behind Drogs.
What do you think? A 4-2-3-1 counter attacking line-up or a 4-3-1-2 with Drogs and Torres doing some damage?
As I said in the piece, I favor 4-2-3-1 because (1) we are familiar with it and (2) Bayern's defense aren't totally air-tight. I think 4-3-1-2 is pretty similar to 4-1-2-1-2 or 4-diamond-2. And I agree with you that we will have to concede the wide areas if we go with that. With Gomez as the center forward, it will not be wise to allow the crosses to start pouring in.
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Yep, that's what I thought. Btw, who do you think should start in the wings? We'll pretty surely see Kalou on one side, but who would you choose for the other side in a 4-2-3-1? Sturridge, Malouda or maybe even Torres?
ReplyDeleteAnyways, let's hope we win!
I will give Sturridge a chance. If that doesn't work, we will have Torres to make an impact off the bench.
ReplyDelete