UEFA Champions League 2019/20: 3 reasons why Chelsea beat Lille

#2 Chelsea looked more resolute at the back

Chelsea's switch to a 3-man defence made them look stronger at the back

For the majority of Chelsea’s games thus far in 2019/20, manager Frank Lampard has deployed a similar formation to his predecessor Maurizio Sarri – largely sticking to a 4-3-3 or a 4-3-2-1 system. While his side haven’t struggled for goals, at times they’ve looked soft at the back, and it’s often felt like Lampard hasn’t really worked out his first choice central defenders.

Tonight however, the Blues legend switched to a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Cesar Azpilicueta joining Fikayo Tomori and Kurt Zouma as part of a back three, and Reece James and Marcos Alonso acting as wing-backs. The result? Chelsea looked far more resolute at the back and reduced Lille to just 3 shots on target throughout the game.

It wasn’t a flawless defensive performance from Lampard’s team – individual errors from Zouma and Kepa Arrizabalaga gifted the French side a couple of chances, but thankfully for Chelsea, Arrizabalaga did well to prevent any further damage. And of course, Victor Osimhen’s goal must’ve been a massive concern; it came from a corner, and the Nigerian striker was largely unchallenged – similarly to the way that Roberto Firmino scored for Liverpool against the Blues a couple of weeks ago.

Outside of that, though? Chelsea seemed stronger in defence and the change didn’t seem to limit them going forward. With that in mind, Lampard would do well to consider keeping this formation for the weekend’s clash with Southampton.