What’s wrong with Chelsea’s Andre Schurrle?

Andre Schurrle

Andre Schurrle was looking to be a Jose Mourinho favourite prior to the Christmas period. The German winger had started seven times for Chelsea and was featuring in Europe and was higher in the pecking order than Juan Mata. In the last seven games though, the German international has started just once, equating to just 52 minutes of football versus Southampton. In fact, all season long the German has completed 90 minutes just once. So what has happened to Schurrle?

Schurrle’s Early Form

Schurrle came to prominence under Mourinho because of his ability to operate as an out-and-out winger. Chelsea’s other attacking midfield options are all more inclined to come inside and take up central positions. Schurrle on the other hand was happy to stretch the play and cling to the touchline, which in turn opened up the field for his team-mates. Schurrle was also beginning to add goals to his game netting twice in the 3-2 defeat to Stoke to make his overall league tally three.

The 4-0 victory away over Steaua Bucharest captured the role that Schurrle can play and his tactical significance.

Schurrle spent the bulk of the game wide left and was consistently terrorising Steaua’s right-back, creating three chances for his team-mates in the process. Steaua couldn’t contain his influence and as we can see below he completed an incredibly high 10 out of an attempted 13 take-ons:

Andre Schürrle Take-Ons vs Steaua

Where Did It Go Wrong?

Where then did it go wrong? Schurrle was really establishing himself at this point, but Chelsea’s form was indifferent. Two factors have worked against the German. He was able to score twice against Stoke but the side lost, which led to a rethink in tactics, a movement to more defensive and a more reactionary tactical approach.

Schurrle also plays on the left wing, which is where Chelsea’s best player, Eden Hazard is operating. The Belgian is also coming on leaps and bounds defensively, playing a crucial role in Chelsea’s quick counter-attacking football, scoring nine league goals in the process. Schurrle is simply not at the standard to really put pressure on Hazard, or see him moving off the left flank. Schurrle could feature wide right, but, Willian has emerged as a crucial figure in the last five weeks. Willian’s defensive ability, with him attempting around three tackles per game, despite being a forward thinking player. Schurrle on the hand doesn’t even attempt one tackle per game. This new defensive emphasis is costing Schurrle, as is the form of Willian and Hazard.

Conclusion

Schurrle is a player with a role to play at Chelsea. His ability to cling to the flank provides Chelsea with a useful option and a degree of flexibility. With Chelsea’s new found emphasis on defensive play he has seen opportunities limited as Willian, who is very impressive at the defensive side of the game, has gone ahead of him in the pecking order. But with the sale of Kevin De Bruyne to Wolfsburg and the imminent departure of Juan Mata, Schurrle is still a crucial member of the Chelsea squad.