Chelsea vs Manchester City: How Ashley Cole silenced Navas and Nasri

The headlines for Chelsea’s victory over Manchester City were inevitably about Fernando Torres, a player in the thick of the action. For the most part though Chelsea did defend very well, with Ashley Cole their best performer at the back, along with fellow full-back Branislav Ivanovic. Cole did not provide a huge deal going forward but he was consistently solid at the back.

Cole won six out of his attempted eight tackles in this tie, winning 70% of his tackles.

Ashley Cole Tackles Won v Man City

As we can see seven of his tackles were down his left hand side, which was an area of frustration for Manchester City as they looked to penetrate Chelsea’s frustrating back line. Cole also made two clearances around the left-back spot and made one interception. It was because of Cole’s solidity in this role that made Jesus Navas struggle for an impact when being brought on as a right winger late in the second half, tasked with stretching the game.

Cole also provided a key tactical role for Chelsea, holding his position wide left and taking up areas where he could act as an outlet for Chelsea’s attacks. This was increasingly important after Andre Schurrle was subbed off, given that he was holding his role wide left prior to this. If we look at Cole’s passing graphic below we can see this:

Ashley Cole Passes v Man City (94% Pass Accuracy)

Cole completed 93% of his passes in this game, including one key pass. Not only did Cole keep the ball for his side brilliantly but he was also important at keeping possession ticking over for his side by constantly showing for the ball on the left. We can also see how he demonstrated his range of passing with two excellent cross field balls to the right flank.

Conclusion

Whilst many fans and neutrals have written Ashley Cole, it is clear that in the big games there are few better left-backs than the England centurion. Generally speaking, City struggled to make any in roads on Cole’s side, with him marshalling the flank incredibly effectively, winning tackles, plugging gaps and also keeping the ball well when required too. It may have implications going into the World Cup, as nobody can argue that Cole is a very, very, big game player.