Lampard's Industrial Chelsea side
Frank Lampard has taken the Chelsea job in surprisingly good fashion
After a prestigious career at the pinnacle of English football, Frank Lampard took the step up and became a head coach at Derby County where he was heralded for his success with young players. In July 2019 Lampard took over from the elegiac Maurizio Sarri with the extreme blow of losing club legend and talisman Eden Hazard. With a transfer ban in his first-year, Lampard showcased his willingness to trust talented young players such as Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori. Lampard achieved Champions League qualification in his first season at Chelsea - an achievement which should be applauded due to his inexperience as an elite-level head coach and the lack of new signings to work with.
““I want my team to play good football, but on the other side of that, I want them to be really aggressive and win the ball back. So I don’t like to try and put myself into one style of play. I think it is important to be adaptable in terms of systems.””
This was Frank Lampard on what he thought of as his 'philosophy'. He's displayed flexibility often interchanging between an asymmetrical 4-2-3-1 and a 4-3-3. Lampard helped mask the lack of superstar quality in the final third by using short build-up - a high risk and high reward approach that has so far worked. In this piece I'll breakdown how Lampard has changed this Chelsea squad to fit his footballing ideology whilst not consistently being able to kill certain defensive qualms.
Chelsea's pressing under Lampard
Chelsea under Lampard have become an aggressive force constantly leading a consistent press off-the ball throughout matches. Lampard has opted for a man to man orientated press with the main idea that his wingers should attack the opposition full-backs and the #10 or most advanced midfielder coupled with the centre forward pressing the centre backs.
Lampard utilized triangle pressing traps vs the deepest midfielder in the double pivot. This season however, with the addition of new signings, we have seen Lampard add a different style to his approach when pressing. Against top opposition, Chelsea off-the ball have a conventional 5-2-3 shape .The main focus is to dominate central areas whilst the front three stay pressed together to block off any passing angles into the opposition’s double pivot. Typically if the ball went to the opposition full-back in the build-up phase, the two full-backs (James and Chilwell) join the press. This helps force the opposition's central players into making mistakes.
Chelsea's man-orientated press vs Manchester United
However, last season, Chelsea's vigorous and overly-zealous press was exploited in some forms by top teams, the most notorious example of course being Bayern Munich at home in the UCL. Chelsea are predominantly a possesion-based side under Lampard, but vs Bayern Munich, they were compromised. They could not press as aggressively since the Bayern midfielders dropped deep and the Chelsea front men would be outnumbered numerically if they did win possession. However, after a strong first half showing, Chelsea’s press became even more vigorous allowing Bayern easy goals via transition.
Mason Mount was effective in winning the ball high up and forcing Boateng to pass back
Chelsea against Liverpool within the first 10 game weeks proved a better example of what Lampard wanted to accomplish with his side’s pressing; to win the ball in the final third zones and restrict any forms of progression on the opposition’s part.
Chelsea’s man-orientated press limiting Liverpool’s progression
In 19/20, Chelsea ranked only below Liverpool for Passes Per Defensive Action, suggesting that their high-octane press reaped rewards, however, it was particularly evident that with the 19/20 squad personnel, this aggressive press would not be sustainable. So far in the 20/21 season, as aforementioned, Lampard has adapted with his signings and is getting results.
Chelsea’s build up play
Lampard for the most part of 19/20 deployed an asymmetrical 4-2-3-1 shape with the double-pivot having variations of Kante/Kovacic, Jorginho/Kante, Jorginho/Kovacic. Under Lampard, the main intention is to not only be dominant with the ball, but to play forward passes and attack the goal as much as possible. Thus in 19/20 they scored 102 goals and created the third most big chances in the league while also attempting the 2nd most shots on goal.
Lampard’s Chelsea built with a 2-2-1-5 shape with the full-backs placed wide and wingers placed in central channels. The full-backs lay on the touchline to stretch out opposition defenses which helps open up passing angles. Lampard has made the talented Mason Mount his personal project in the side, with Mount being instructed to use his spatial awareness to find holes between the lines.
Jorginho - a midfielder who divides opinion across the footballing world - is the undisputed key to Chelsea in the build-up the phase. For someone at a noticeable disadvantage athletically, he compensates with his meticulous eye for a pass. Jorginho begun the build-up centrally and would look to instigate attacks through central channels. With the wingers CHO/Mount and Willian placed already in central channels, it allowed Chelsea to seal overloads. The two full-backs were tasked with providing width by creating space behind the forwards and overlapping which made Chelsea a menacing prospect in offensive zones.
Jorginho drops into the Chelsea defence to form a three-chain and start Chelsea’s attack
Chelsea’s defensive structure under Frank Lampard
Chelsea in 19/20 conceded the third least shots and had the fifth lowest expected goals conceded but yet still had the worst defensive record in the Abramovich era ~ conceding an average 1.44 goals per 90. This has led to negative media attention with pundits and many on social media labeling Lampard as ‘naïve’ and ‘unable to coach a defence’. Such is a myth manipulated by the media as many often are with the level of coverage teams like Chelsea receive. Objectively, a combination of factors has led to Chelsea having a leaky backline but Lampard’s defensive structure is not the issue.
Chelsea in 19/20 struggled to deal with counter-attacks, long-shots, and set pieces. It goes without saying that they had the worst goalkeeper in Europe’s top 5 leagues in Kepa Arrizabalaga. Pair this with the evident lack of leaders in his back-line and an absence for aerial dominant players outside of Giroud, and you come to the reasonable conclusion that Lampard had his work cut out for him defensively.
““With Liverpool, I remember a lot of talk about them and set pieces a few seasons ago. They were zonal and conceding a lot. They signed Virgil van Dijk and he heads out everything. There’s a huge relation to personnel and if you don’t have that size, the main thing is trying to compete as hard as you can and making it difficult for other teams to score.”
This was Frank Lampard when referring to the lack of aerial presence in his Chelsea side last season. This has thus been changed with the acquisition of the highly decorated Thiago Silva, and in turn, Chelsea’s set-piece qualms have merely banished.
Throughout the 19/20 season, whether it was the 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3, or even the 3-4-3, the same principles maintained with the defensive structure aiming to deny the opposition of any control within the half-spaces and central areas. Chelsea would defend with a 4-5-1 shape and the advanced CMs would drop deep to help block off central spaces. Simultaneously, wingers stayed out wide to provide support for the full-backs if they were prompted with a 2v1 situation.
This structure has proved an instant success in limiting opposition shots and forcing them into situations with numerical disadvantages. However, in the UCL, the spaces in between Kovacic and the CBs were left exposed due to a lack of spatial awareness from the player. Thomas Müller, a man conveniently nicknamed the ‘Raumdeuter’ a word that translates to interpreter of space, made sure to exploit this. Throughout the first leg in London, Müller and Gnabry constantly occupied that gap which was where most of Bayern’s attacks started. This was a personnel error in my own opinon, with Kovacic naturally favouring to press Thiago and Kimmich rather than help Jorginho protect his centre backs and limit the space from the Bayern forwards.
Chelsea’s 4-5-1 shape in the UCL
CONCLUSION
Chelsea have been a force to be reckoned with under Lampard, playing some exciting football whilst also attaining one of the youngest squads in the league. Lampard is bringing a bit of the flair and swagger from his playing days into the side and it’s been evident. There are some concerns with Chelsea’s defence but with the summer signings of both Thiago Silva and Edouard Mendy, major defensive deficiencies were addressed. Chelsea’s recurring lack of compactness and Lampard’s in-game management still leaves for questions to be asked, with him, for example, favouring to bring on Pedro for an injured Pulisic in the FA Cup final rather than the like-for-like in Callum Hudson Odoi. His integration of youth such as Billy Gilmour and Reece James has been commendable, and with the signings of Ziyech, Havertz, along with the livewire that is Timo Werner, one can comfortably say that we’re on the verge of the return to the South London outfit’s glory days.
Written by Ami who you can follow on Twitter @Jibreelinho
