Chelsea Tactical Analysis: Role of full-backs

Chelsea had got off to a great start to the new season but have hit a rough patch of late. A recent dip in form has seen them lose four of their last six matches in the Premier League while registering just a single win. But when a squad overhaul of the magnitude that happened last summer takes place at any club, the transitions are expected to get a little choppy.

It’s just a question of how to return to those habits that got them off to a flying start and in the first episode of Talking Tactics, Bollywood superstar and passionate Blues supporter Arjun Kapoor gets in conversation with Former FC Pune City technical director, Pradhyum Reddy. In the episode, Pradhyum Reddy emphasizes the role and importance of full-backs in modern football.

He draws attention to how most of the successful teams in the modern game both domestically and otherwise are built around world-class full-backs. Full-backs in today’s game have to help out both in attack and in defense and are usually relied on more than any other player in any other position to help transition from defense into attack.

Chelsea full-backs stretch the opposition and open up spaces

They are the ones who have to stretch the opposition into wide areas in a bid to open up spaces in more central quarters. In Reece James and Ben Chilwell, Chelsea has two of the finest full-backs in the game on either side of the pitch. Frank Lampard likes his full-backs to be two of the most advanced players on the pitch right behind the striker and attack the box when a cross comes in from the opposite flank.

Well deserved, Chilly! 👏

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 4, 2020

Attacking the box when a cross is coming in is usually the primary responsibility of the second striker or a winger but in Frank Lampard’s Chelsea setup, that responsibility is down to the full-backs. As a result, Ben Chilwell has scored two goals and provided four assists from across 14 appearances in the Premier League so far while Reece James has scored one and assisted two from 13.

Pradhyum Reddy also talks about how this style of play is conducive to Chelsea’s overall productivity as most of their attacking players are ones who like to cut in from the flanks and attack the box be it Timo Werner of Christian Pulisic or Havertz or even Hakim Ziyech. He reiterates that the way out of this slump and the way forward for the Blues is to work out the combinations that best work on either side of the pitch.

Chelsea have a wealth of attacking talent at their disposal and the only headache for Frank Lampard is to choose the right individuals for the right combination and they will start ticking again.