Another weekend, another disappointing loss. We somehow lost, 3-2, at Sunderland, a team that fights for relegation every year like Sisyphus rolling his stone up the eternal hill. I believe our performance illuminates a recurring issue of the team under Hiddink. We have no system, no real approach to playing, and thus we have no stability.
The game seemed in hand for much of the first half. After a period of early discomfort and pressure from Sunderland, and an inexplicable yellow card for Gary Cahill, we settled into the game. Diego scored in the 14th minute, and Hazard looked like the Hazard of last season. Fabregas was playing well, we controlled midfield somewhat well, and were limiting Sunderland's chances.
Then, after 5 minutes or so of decent pressure, Sunderland scored just before half. In the minutes after the goal and before half, they pressed us harder and harder, forcing more and more mistakes. They were on the ascendancy, and would surely go into halftime with all the momentum.
But then we hit them once on the counter, Matic took two great touches and finished to make the score 2-1 again. Sunderland lost all the air in their sails, and instead of going into the dressing room pumped, they entered deflated.
We came out and again dominated the early portions of the second half. But they steadily grew in influence, gaining more possession, although they weren't able to get many chances.
Then, just as suddenly as Matic's goal had come, first Borini and then Defoe scored in two minutes, to take the lead. In the 66th minute we were in control, cruising to 3 points. In the 70th we were underdogs, fighting for 1.
For the rest of the game we had little to offer. Sunderland soaked up our pressure, and unsurprisingly (given our complete lack of a coherent counterpress or even just good counterpressing defensive midfielders) were able to get several chances off counter attacks.
The quick ups and downs, ebs and flows, of the game exemplefied a recurring issue of Hiddink's time. We are playing without an identity, without a system. We don't know what we are. We play generic, youth level soccer, with no overall philosophy. Under Carlo Ancelotti, we played attacking, possession based football. Under Mourinho we were defensive, lighting quick on the counter attack. Even Andre Villas Boas, a disastrously bad tenure, tried to install a style of play.
For all of the talk of the "stability" and "calm" Hiddink has brought to the club, in the dressing room and off the field, he has failed to transfer those qualities to the on field product. Chelsea has been anything but stable.
We are prone to massive shifts of momentum in games, both for good and for bad. The match against Tottenham, last week, and the second leg against PSG are also good examples. Against both teams we were locked out of much of the game by superior teams. Their offensive structures allowed them to retain possession well, and when they lost it they were in good shape to counterpress.
We, on the other hand, had a weak defensive shape, with poor access to the ball, and struggled to pressure either team. However, for certain periods of the games, in 5-10 minute stretches, we were able to rachet up the intensity of the game (both homes matches) and put pressure onto the visitors. We pressed in a haphazard and unstructured manner, but, in small doses, it was effective in forcing turnovers and getting us chances on the counter.
But in both matches, PSG and Tottenham regained control after 5-10 minutes, and drained the stadium and team of intensity. They controlled possession for long periods, and gradually forced us back into our half.
In both matches, and against Sunderland, we were at the mercy of the flow of the game. We were passive, allowing the match to take us were it would. We did not establish control over the flow and tempo of the game, like the great teams do.
Barcelona, Bayern, Dortmund, Real and Atleti are all so fantastic and dominating because they dictate how games will be played. They have systems that all the players work in and out of. Some, like Bayern, Dortmund and Barca, control games through possession. Atleti does it through not having the ball, by giving other teams the ball and dictating where they put it.
But all of these teams know what their game plan is, know how they are going to play. We, on the other hand, walk out on the field as a group of 11 individuals. We certainly attack and defend together, but with little idea or structure of how we are going to do that.
Our offensive structure is horrendous; our press is poor and uncoordinated when we use it, which is rare; we cannot counterpress, consistently leaving our backline of old, immobile men vunerable to quick counterattacks.
While Hiddink may have brought calm and stability to the players and club, he hasn't done that to the style of play. I would dare to say, and this is a gutsy statement, that Antonio Conte comes into a worse on field situation now then he would've if he had taken over directly for Jose. At least then the players would have not wasted five months playing bland, meaningless, thoughtless football.
No comments:
Post a Comment