Nicely, it wasn’t fairly for Chelsea however they’re by way of to the subsequent spherical of the Convention League following a 1-0 win on the night time and a 3-1 win on mixture over FC Copenhagen.
The second leg was a recreation of two halves for the Blues, failing to document a single shot within the first half with their 53% possession, whereas, within the second half, the Blues held 54% of the ball, taking 11 pictures, creating two massive possibilities and producing 1.13 xG.
The primary half noticed Enzo Maresca’s aspect struggling to attach passes, usually seeking to drive it by way of gaps that weren’t there, resulting in common turnovers and a back-and-forth nature to the primary half.
However the introduction of Marc Cucurella and Cole Palmer at half-time modified the sport, permitting Chelsea to take management of the sport, rating the purpose and safe their fourth consecutive win in all competitions.
Cole Palmer’s efficiency vs Copenhagen
When Palmer got here from the bench at half-time, Chelsea have been in a position to transfer by way of the strains with way more ease, which was largely attributable to two key modifications.
Efficiency in Numbers
Need information and stats? Soccer FanCast’s Efficiency in Numbers collection supplies you with the newest match evaluation from throughout Europe.
The primary of which was the ball velocity when Cucurella and Palmer entered the pitch, slowing it down on the proper occasions and permitting Chelsea to creep forwards, get into good counter-pressing positions and maintain stress.
The second change was to maneuver right into a diamond-shaped build-up, leaving Moises Caicedo because the lone pivot, having Cucurella and Dewsbury-Corridor as the surface central midfielders and Palmer because the central quantity ten, capable of finding area in both pocket.
The 23-year-old managed 39 touches in his 45-minute cameo, finishing 24/26 of his passes, certainly one of which being a key move and taking 4 pictures within the recreation, solely certainly one of which was heading in the right direction.
One factor Palmer was not in a position to do, was re-open his goal-scoring account, one thing which appears to be coming extremely laborious to him in the meanwhile.
Palmer will should be at his best possible for Sunday’s recreation in opposition to Arsenal if Chelsea need to make it 5 wins from their final 5 video games, however he maybe is not their most vital participant proper now, with a one other star persevering with to indicate his worth on the coronary heart of Maresca’s system.
Chelsea’s new key man shines in Europe
The aforementioned Caicedo put in a wonderful show in opposition to FC Copenhagen, being given a 7/10 match score by The Commonplace and being praised for his crunching tackles in the midst of the park.
The 23-year-old was alongside Josh Acheampong for the primary half, earlier than taking part in as a lone defensive midfielder. In each roles, he flourished.
|
Caicedo vs Copenhagen |
|
|---|---|
|
Minutes |
79 |
|
Touches |
90 |
|
Correct Passes |
68/73 (93%) |
|
Key Passes |
1 |
|
Lengthy Balls |
3/4 |
|
Floor Duels Received |
8/9 |
|
Aerial Duels Received |
1/1 |
|
Interceptions |
1 |
|
Tackles |
4 |
|
Stats taken from Sofascore |
|
Extremely, Caicedo gained eight of his 9 floor duels and gained his solely aerial duel within the match, giving him a 90% duel success charge. His skill to brush issues up, assist Chelsea maintain stress within the FC Copenhagen half, and halt any counter-attacking possibilities was key to the Blues’ second-half enchancment.
The Ecuadorian has made 33 appearances this season, scoring one purpose and offering two assists however it’s the total work of the midfielder that helps the complete group to operate, successful duels, holding issues ticking and defending the group in transition.
While Palmer is clearly extremely vital, and discovering his greatest kind once more would undoubtedly make an enormous distinction in Chelsea’s ultimate stretch of the season, Caicedo seems like essentially the most irreplaceable member of the group proper now, with nobody able to doing his job to the identical degree.
Associated
Chelsea allowed “horrific” flop to depart for £0, now he is taking part in like Isak
The previous Chelsea participant has impressed massively after departing Stamford Bridge.
