Chelsea are in a transitional period. There is no doubt about that but over the last few games especially, fans have at least seen some of Graham Potter's coaching methods come to life on the pitch.
Coming into the month of March, Potter was under huge pressure as Chelsea head coach and while the scrutiny never really goes away on a Blues manager, it has certainly eased in recent weeks. Three straight wins over Leeds United, Borussia Dortmund and Leicester City saw Chelsea on the up for the first time in what seemed like an eternity.
The draw against Everton just before the international break was a slight setback but there were still glimpses of a much-improved Chelsea side in that game. Potter was of course disappointed with the result but the head coach would have been pleased to see some of his coaching methods used on the pitch.
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Potter likes his team to play out from the back, always. You rarely see a Potter-led side boot the ball long and direct. It always tends to be little intricate passing movements that progress his team up the field.
Everton came and pressed Chelsea which might have shocked them a bit considering Sean Dyche usually likes his teams to sit back and invite pressure in a low-block. However, in a way, this probably worked in the Blues' favour at Stamford Bridge (despite what the scoreline might suggest).
There was one instance in the game, very early on, where Chelsea beat Everton's press with a really clever move. Unfortunately it led to nothing on this occasion but the move was repeated, or similar moves anyway, throughout the 90 minutes in west London. See below...
Chelsea's eight-second move
Kalidou Koulibaly collects the ball from Kepa Arrizabalaga with a bit of space inside the box. The defender is barely pressed and allowed to find one of Chelsea's two central midfielders who are about 10 yards away from them.
Koulibaly waits for Mateo Kovacic to find a bit of space in between two Everton attackers. Kovacic hasn't got an awful amount of space but enough to get himself on the half-turn and look up the pitch.
Kai Havertz is the man Kovacic finds but the German is under pressure so looks to offload the ball immediately. However, Havertz occupies four Everton players allowing space for his teammates elsewhere. A little move that was undoubtedly created on the training pitch and almost paid off in this game.
Havertz then releases the ball back to Enzo Fernandez, whose passing range is fantastic. The Argentine looks for a clipped ball over to Reece James on the right-hand side and hopefully get the wing-back one-on-one with Ben Godfrey who is being dragged out of position and allowing more space for his teammates if the situation arises.
James is then found with a possible one versus one scenario with Godfrey. Unfortunately this time the move doesn't pay off as Godfrey is very aware and alive to the situation. It is, however, a move from Chelsea that could definitely work in the future.
Aston Villa and Liverpool chances
Up next for Chelsea is back-to-back home matches against Aston Villa and Liverpool. Both of these sides love to press high up the pitch and try to squeeze the life out of their opposition, something they will surely be doing against the Blues should the opportunity arise in the next week.
Granted, these two teams are more effective with their pressing than Everton, particularly Liverpool, but little moves like the one detailed above could be impactful ways of breaking the pressure. Potter will have more than that up his sleeve. The majority of top teams in football nowadays like to press to win back possession so managers have been forced to adapt in recent years.
The wing-backs in a 3-4-2-1 formation are so crucial for breaking a high press. The more they stay wide, the more space they should theoretically get when Chelsea's central players get on the ball. With the passing range of Kovacic and Enzo, it allows the two midfielders to pick out the likes of James and Ben Chilwell with relative ease.
The tactical battles, particularly against Liverpool, are going to be fascinating to watch. Potter, for all the criticism he has received with some of it being deserved, has shown his tactical flexibility in abundance thus far in his tenure at Stamford Bridge.
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