Leeds United just secured their first win in their last five games, lifting themselves out of the relegation zone with a 3-1 victory over Chelsea at Elland Road.
Daniel Farke kept his new five at the back system which worked well against Manchester City in the second half at the weekend, going with two upfront and looking to test the physicality of the Chelsea defensive unit.
Meanwhile, Enzo Maresca made five changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Arsenal at the weekend, with Moises Caicedo out due to suspension, while Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Malo Gusto and Pedro Neto all being rested.
In this article, we’ll cover
Daniel Farke’s 5-3-2 genius
In the second half against Manchester City, Farke shifted to a 5-3-2/3-5-2, getting his side back in the game from 2-0 down, getting it back to 2-2 before Phil Foden scored a late winner for Pep Guardiola’s side.
This allowed Leeds to attach their two wing-backs to the two Manchester City full-backs who were holding width, keeping their midfield three intact in central areas to deal with the overloads Guardiola was looking to form.
Another strength this change in system gave Leeds was the ability to be more direct into the front two, winning the first contact and enabling their midfielders and wing-backs to join the attack.
Both of these tactical advantages from the 5-3-2 were clear against Chelsea, as both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha bullied the rotated centre-back pairing for Maresca’s men.
Their midfield three were then able to dominate in the duels off of this, with Enzo Fernandez and Joao Pedro often higher, allowing Leeds to out work Chelsea and swarm Andrey Santos as the lone pivot.
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Chelsea bullied
Chelsea were unable to deal with the hostile conditions of Elland Road, along with the conditions of the game set by Farke’s system change.
The centre-back pairing of Tosin Adarabioyo and Benoit Badiashile were unable to deal with the Leeds strike partners, who were either winning the aerial duel themself, or doing enough to put the defenders under pressure, leading to plenty of second balls to contest.
Despite winning eight of his 10 aerial duels and making 12 clearances (eight being headed clearances), the lack of intent when attacking those aerial duels often allowed Leeds to easily contest the second ball, or even gain territory due to a poor clearance from the 28-year-old.
Often in front of the defensive line, you would have Caicedo ready to challenge for those second balls, with the defensive line slightly higher to help contesting those loose balls.
However, with Adarabioyo’s inclusion, Chelsea often find themselves slightly deeper to protect the space in behind, leaving more space in front of the defensive line which Leeds took advantage of when swarming those second balls in the absence of Caicedo.
Rotation hurts the Blues
Maresca’s rotation strategy has hurt the Blues a few times this season, with heavy rotation affecting their 2-2 draw against Brentford earlier in the season, and more recently their 2-2 draw with Qarabag in the UEFA Champions League.
The big talking point is the centre-back pairing, which is often seen as a key area for familiarity, rather than different pairings for each game.
However, for Chelsea this is difficult, with the likes of Fofana and James having to be managed due to their injury issues, meaning two of the back four is tough to keep consistent for each and every game.
The dilemma Maresca has here, especially with Fofana when it comes to building a centre-back pairing who can become familiar with each other, is due to the injury issues. Fofana would not be reliable, meaning his go to pairing would have to dismiss the Frenchman, despite him being perhaps their best defender.
Leeds win midfield battle
As previously mentioned, Leeds winning the midfield battle behind their front two was key to winning this game, winning their duels and allowing Farke’s side to halt any momentum Chelsea began to build.
Ethan Ampadu put in a man of the match display in the middle of the park, winning four of his eight ground duels, making two tackles, two interceptions, six clearances, one block and six ball recoveries.
Meanwhile, Ao Tanaka and Anton Stach were the two midfielders often flying forward to support the front two, swarming Santos and helping Leeds gain territory further forward.
Tanaka even scored Leeds’ second goal of the game, with Jayden Bogle latching onto an interception from Nmecha, before giving it to Tanaka who smashed it into the far right of the goal to make it 2-0.
The big question now for Farke with Arne Slot’s Liverpool coming up at the weekend, is will they stick to it this coming weekend?