Chelsea beat Pafos 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League to take themselves into the top eight of the group phase.
Liam Rosenior got his first win in the competition at the first time of asking, but not without its challenges, as Chelsea struggled to break down a stubborn Pafos low block.
The Blues held 71% of the ball in the game, taking 21 shots and creating five big chances, but it took a 78th minute goal from Moises Caicedo to break the deadlock from a set-piece.
In this article, we’ll cover
Build up patterns
Starting with the approach Rosenior takes against low blocks, this is an area Enzo Maresca also struggled in, as teams look to sit off in a back five and make things difficult for the attacking team.
Maresca’s approach was to create an overload between the lines, shifting his build up shape based on the opposition pressing structure, to ensure Chelsea always had the extra player between the lines.
This would see Chelsea starting with a 3-1 base against most back fives sides, which could shift to a 2-2-6 depending on how many players the opposition pressed with in the first line.
Rosenior’s approach at Strasbourg and in his early days at Chelsea against low blocks is different, keeping a 3-2 base in build up irrespective of the numbers in the opposition’s front press.
Instead, Rosenior keeps his 3-2-5 structure, with the five forwards matching up against the back five of the opposition, splitting the team into two units.
From here, Rosenior wants to bait pressure from the opposition front press, luring them in and then looking to inject pace as they break the lines, with a player from the build up unit (3-2 base) joining the front five to create a front six.
Having said that, there were some issues with the execution of these pace injections, which made things look a little bit stale and saw the Blues struggle for the breakthrough goal.
Lack of central access
The biggest issue with this strategy is the fact you have to break that first line of pressure to instigate the tempo shift, which Chelsea struggled to do on the night.
Perhaps the best move of the first half saw Jorrel Hato push into the left half space, with Reece James finding the entry pass into Liam Delap who was able to link with Caicedo to find Hato inside the box, leading to a big chance which was saved by Jay Gorter.
However, Chelsea were unable to find Delap into feet on enough occasions, with the English striker only getting 12 touches in his 70 minutes.
Instead, due to Chelsea’s lack of central access, the Blues found themselves forced out wide more frequently, with Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho struggling to force the issue and find that breakthrough which was needed.
Moises Caicedo saves the day
Caicedo was the man to save the day against Pafos, scoring from a corner with his fourth effort of the game, leaping above the Pafos defender to guide it home with his head.
The Ecuadorian had four shots in the game, striking a number of shots from outside the box and stinging the Pafos goalkeepers gloves on a number of occasions to no avail.
But Caicedo was also heavily involved in the final third looking to create chances, as mentioned for the Hato chance in the first half connecting via a third man combination, but also making three key passes in the game.
Enzo Fernandez also made three key passes, playing higher up in the right pocket and looking to provide the final ball for the Chelsea forwards.
A win is a win and Chelsea will take all three points and move on to a huge game in Naples next week, but Rosenior still definitely has his work cut out when it comes to getting his ideas across.