Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea team can keep dangerous opponents at arm’s length, an unusual asset in the modern eraStep back from football and amid various ups and downs, backs and forths, check-backs and dead-ends, the first 100 years of its development after the modern laws were first drawn up in 1863 can be seen as comprising roughly linear development. We started with seven forwards and one defender and we slowly moved players back until we had four defenders and two forwards. We went from a chaotic charging game, through man-marking to zonal marking. By the mid-1960s, football was mature.The changes since have been incremental. There is far less sense of forward momentum. A style of play or shape becomes modish and...
Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea team can keep dangerous opponents at arm’s length, an unusual asset in the modern eraStep back from football and amid various ups and downs, backs and forths, check-backs and dead-ends, the first 100 years of its development after the modern laws were first drawn up in 1863 can be seen as comprising roughly linear development. We started with seven forwards and one defender and we slowly moved players back until we had four defenders and two forwards. We went from a chaotic charging game, through man-marking to zonal marking. By the mid-1960s, football was mature.The changes since have been incremental. There is far less sense of forward momentum. A style of play or shape becomes modish and...
Thomas Tuchel’s side were forced outside their comfort zone but stood firm during Liverpool’s second-half onslaughtThe chaos descended shortly before half-time. Andrew Robertson’s corner from the right precipitated a series of events that would result – roughly several dozen ricochets, a goalline handball, a VAR referral, a full-blown ruck and five minutes later – in Liverpool’s equalising goal. By the time the two sides had finally disappeared down the tunnel, still angrily chirping at each other, the complexion of the game had changed entirely, irrevocably.It wasn’t just the goal or the contentious dismissal of Reece James, either. It was a tonal shift: the point at which, having played with a cool, implacable detachment for 45 minutes, Chelsea were violently thrown...
Thomas Tuchel’s side were forced outside their comfort zone but stood firm during Liverpool’s second-half onslaughtThe chaos descended shortly before half-time. Andrew Robertson’s corner from the right precipitated a series of events that would result – roughly several dozen ricochets, a goalline handball, a VAR referral, a full-blown ruck and five minutes later – in Liverpool’s equalising goal. By the time the two sides had finally disappeared down the tunnel, still angrily chirping at each other, the complexion of the game had changed entirely, irrevocably.It wasn’t just the goal or the contentious dismissal of Reece James, either. It was a tonal shift: the point at which, having played with a cool, implacable detachment for 45 minutes, Chelsea were violently thrown...
Romelu Lukaku returns for Chelsea, Raphaël Varane set for United bow and Burnley test Virgil van Dijk’s aerial mettleArsenal beat Chelsea twice last season, including a victory at StamfordBridge three months ago. Since then they have spent heavily on transfers including a £50m centre-back. Their fans must be super-confident as they prepare for Sunday’s Emirates clash, especially those who have blanked out last week’s fiasco at Brentford. But Thomas Tuchel is sure to bear that match in mind as he prepares his strategy for Sunday, and his pre-match pep talk is likely to begin with a good old-fashioned “get into ’em”. Ben White performed no worse than many teammates last week but the expectation on him is higher following his...