Goal Analysis: Cole vs Stoke (PL h 12-13)

CHELSEA DOMINATED STOKE CITY at Stamford Bridge but they had to wait until 84th minute to grab the winner from an unlikely source. It has been over two years since Ashley Cole has not scored a goal. After bringing the ball down the left in the dying minutes of the game, Cole made a diagonal run into the box to chip Juan Mata’s improvised pass over outrushing Stoke’s keeper Begovic and scored his 7th goal as a Chelsea player.

In a game in which Chelsea tried over and over again to create chances through intricate buildups, this goal came as a result of a counter attack. It took only about 20 seconds from start to finish, consisting only 5 passes. Let’s take a close look at how this goal was scored.


Countering the Counter 

Picture 1. Chelsea defends Stoke attack

[83:36] Etherington forced out wide by Moses.

[83:40] Etherington passes back to Wilson.

[83:45] Wilson crosses towards Jones.

[83:47] Luiz clears the ball.

[83:49] Cole controls the loose ball and dribbles forward.

I start the analysis of this goal at this particular point to highlight two things. First, it was a case of countering a Stoke’s counter attack. The game was pretty open as it neared the end. When Chelsea’s attack fell apart on the other side, Stoke broke forward with substitute Etherington down Chelsea’s left. Second, I wanted show Moses’ effort to track back and cover Ivanovic, who, as you can see from Picture, was returning from his adventures at the other end. Although the Nigerian just came on in the second half, it was good to see his defensive discipline.

With only Jones ahead of him, and with Moses pressing hard, Etherington was forced to move out wide before passing the ball back to Wilson, who joined the attack from his left back position. When Wilson whipped in a long ball into the box, towards Jones, David Luiz read the play brilliantly, out-jumped Jones and headed the ball away. From here, Cole picked up the loose ball and ran with it.

Triangle Solves Problem

Picture 2. Chelsea attack

[83:55] Cole continues to dribble; Oscar makes an overlap; Lampard and Moses come forward down the center, and Ivanovic down the right.

[84:00] Cole passes to Lampard.

[84:02] Lampard passes to Moses.

Picture 2 skipped quite a lot of things. As the television cameras zoomed in to show Cole’s determined face rather than the wide overview of the field, I can’t show you what happened as the left back brought the ball forward. [What I imagined happened is outlined in the featured picture of this post.] Here's what we know. Cole was allowed to go forward without any obstacle in his way. Lampard, Moses and Ivanovic have ran forward to join the attack. Around the halfway line, Oscar made an overlapping run down the left flank, which nudged Cole toward the center.

When Cole reached the attacking third, he was closed down by a Stoke midfielder while being chased by another. Here, a little triangle made up of Cole, Lampard and Moses would solve this congestion problem. Cole passed to Lampard, who then passed to Moses, and the point of attack moved quickly from left to right. When Moses got the possession, Whelan, who stood immediately in front of Lampard, was slow to close down Moses. Thus, Huth had to come off his line to meet the Nigerian; this, in turn, created the gap in Stoke's defense -- between Shawcross and Wilson -- for Cole to rush into with a diagonal run.

Note, at this point, that there were only two Chelsea players -- Torres and Mata -- between Stoke's midfield and defense lines. This would change quickly in the next phase of the attack.

Getting Between the Lines

Picture 3. Getting between the lines

[84:04] Moses passes to Ivanovic.

[84:05] Ivanovic passes to Mata.

[84:06] Mata passes to Cole.

[84:07] Cole scores.

As Moses got ready to slip the ball to Ivanovic on the right, Mata and Cole headed toward the penalty spot from different direction. What these three frames depict is the fluidity of Chelsea's attack. You have Torres (forward) slightly off-center in the box; Ivanovic (right back) and Oscar (attacking mid) doing the same job of providing width; Moses (right winger) taking a central position as Mata (attacking mid) took the forward role; and Cole (left back) making a run of an attacking mid. In essence, Cole and Oscar have switched positions for this particular attacking play.

In frame two of Picture 3, you see that four Chelsea players have taken position between the Stoke lines -- a 4 v 3 situation. From here, Stoke defense fell like a row of domino pieces. When Wilson closed down Ivanovic, Mata was open to receive the pass from his right back. When Shawcross and the retrieving midfielders closed down Mata, Cole was open to dink Mata's pass over Begovic.

STAMFORD BRIDGE IS ABOUT 115 yards long. Considering that Cole started his run from about the 12-yard point in his own box, he covered approximately 100 yards when he scored that winner; and he did this at the 84th minute of the game, and with that kind of a cool finish. That shows you how fit the 31-year-old left back is. On the other side, Ivanovic too made a deep run (after just returning from an attack) to support this attack. Chelsea may have relied on trickery down the middle to create chances in this game, but the breakthrough came because of the speed and stamina of the fullbacks down the flanks.

Carefree, wherever you may be...