Schalke 0-3 Chelsea: Five things we learned

Schalke waste and waste

Schalke 04 – Home advantage wasted, big time!

Simply, a lot was expected of Schalke 04 at the Veltins Arena and they failed to deliver on each and every front.

Die Knappen were abysmal in front of the goal and lacked an out-and-out target man. Their attacks lacked the pace and creativity and as a result, there was no end product whatsoever. The Chelsea defense was on their toes the whole night and was able to read any attack that the Germans tried to build.

On the other side of the pitch, Schalke defense held their own throughout the match, but conceded the goals due to tactical inaccuracies and bad luck.

Schalke, after the half-time break, shifted to a more attacking formation with three defenders at the back, which left the hole for pacey players like Eden Hazard and Andre Schurrle to thrive on the counter.

Switching to an attacking formation early in the second half was a wrong move as it allowed Chelsea to settle for a counter attacking strategy. Had the hosts kept hold of their 4-2-3-1 formation from the first half till the 70^th minute, before switching to 3-5-2, things could have been different.

It was their lack of bodies in the defense which saw them concede two more goals in the second half. If they want a result at Stamford Bridge, they need to go back to the drawing board.