Chelsea 1 - 0 Tottenham: Match thoughts....
3 points and a clean sheet, lovely!
Good Morning Ladies and Gents,
Sorry for the late article and subsequent newsletter! Obviously I was at The Bridge last night so a lay in was required!
Well firstly the night started great meeting the absolute Chelsea legend that is super Tommy Tuchel!!
Si, Danny & I had a class day in London having a few beers in the sun ready for the game. It was great to have a SPTC catch up although we missed our boy Jai who has been loving life in Asia recently!
Game Summary
We started the game quickly and that showed with the 2 early chances we created through determination from Jackson, something we have missed up front in recent months. We would have been 1-0 up within a minute if it wasn’t for some great defending from Van de Ven.
As usual we dominated the ball for large parts with lots of the usual patient and passive passing at times. What I did notice in the game as a whole was Maresca’s adaptation from his usual tactics.
Firstly they kept passing to draw Spurs on to them, the minute the Spurs stepped up we tried to get in behind which was nice to see. Nobody likes sideways passing but from what I could see live it was done for a purpose during this match.
Likewise with our press, at the start of the game I thought it was a weak and lazy pressn that was easy for Spurs to bypass in their defensive 3rd. Levi Colwill mentioned in his post match interview that we dropped in to a low block at times and that showed in the press that we didn’t want to be too aggressive because when we were they got in behind us really quickly.
Maresca’s infamous quote of “kick it long and I’ll sub the GK” went out of the window last night, we were happy to go long early or go long to get in behind and catch Spurs in transition. I like that adaptation and tactical tweak from Maresca, we also switched play a lot during the game, something we are not used to seeing.
Overall I was happy with the performance without it blowing me away, it was good against a bad team where I never really felt worried or under pressure once we were 1-0 up.
Match Ratings
Enzo Maresca - 7.5
I was happy with the lineup overall and understand the management of Reece. Like I have mentioned I was impressed with the tactical tweaks/adaptation, this needs to be more consistent for me to give him big praise but it is a start and something we haven’t had in recent months. We grinded the game out in the ridiculous 12 minutes added time and there’s nothing better than the feeling after a hard fought 1-0 win.
Robert Sanchez - 6
Sanchez just imposes fear onto everybody around him regardless of what he does, he actually made some really nice long passes and switches last night, he also made some terrible short passes and clearances. He made a decent save from Son at the end but the context of the game maybe overhyped that, he also conceded an absolute howler which was luckily ruled out.
Malo Gusto - 8
His best performance of the season so far by a mile, he was superb last night and that is the Gusto I want to see, he had like a free role last night, he inverted at times he was really wide and overlapping at times as well, it was nice to see. He was so solid defensively, needs to build on that moving forward.
Trevoh Chalobah - 7.5
Really solid, won countless aerial duels and played some good passes. I loved the passion and aggression he showed as well.
Levi Colwill - 7
Good on the ball and did well handling Solanke, often stepping out and staying tight not allowing him to turn. I just want him to stay out of silly petulant matters.
Marc Cucurella - 7
An unusually quiet game but defended well and made some good tackles. He was part of a back 3 with Gusto having a free role, which limited him but he played it well.
Enzo Fernandez - 8.5
He has been so good since October/November time, a real leader on the pitch with his performances. He took his goal so well by crashing the box at the right time. His passing range and tenacity are exceptional.
Moises Caicedo - 9 - Unanimous SPTC Man of the Match!
Moi is the best DM in the world right now, he is actually incredible. The finish for the goal was superb, unfortunately it was taken off him. I dont think I need to tell you all how good he is because we know, resounding Chelsea POTY.
Cole Palmer - 8
Cole was getting back to his usual self last night, there were some really good moments from him, the cross for the goal was superb. He tried to nonchalantly chip Vicario which was superb but a good save stopped him.
Pedro Neto - 6.5
I thought he was indecisive, slow in possession and a little bit uncreative. He looked out of ideas and not to happy on the right, lots of cutting in and killing pace of attacks.
Jadon Sancho - 6.5
I could pretty much copy and paste what I said about Neto, JUST SHOOT. He worked his way into positions well at times but he was so indecisive that he either didn’t shoot or by the time he decided to shoot the chance was gone. Denied a good goal by a superb save from Vicario.
Nico Jackson - 7
It was nice to have a focal point again and some pace, tenacity and determination in attack. Nico brings all of that in abundance but is still incredibly frustrating at times and the one real chance he had was a woeful finish.
Subs;
Noni Madueke - 6
Didn’t do a lot at all really.
Reece James - N/A
No time to really but his authority on the game.
Tosin - N/A
Won a couple of important headers in the dying stages.
Dewsbury-Hall - N/A
Won a couple of tackles and broke down the play in the few minutes he was on.
Hope you all enjoyed the read, 3 massive points and we keep on moving
Luke Rushbrook
Great review Luke and the atmosphere was better than we’ve had for many games even though it’s always up for Spurs. It had a positivity about it.
Well it’s Worth here are some of my review/comments along the same lines of your own above,, Excluding those that I didn’t have any think positive or negative to say
Enzo Maresca - there was really positive ideas last night and he showed what a good coach you can be, setting up the team differently and accounting for the weaknesses in the opposition. I also liked his pragmatic approach at the end of the game to look up shop in the way he did. To be fair, the team showed an improvement in game management as well.
Malo Gusto - 100% his best game of the season and show signs of the player we saw last.
Trevoh Chalobah - excellent all night long, solid, won balls in the air and distribution was good. Loved his run at the end of the game.
Levi Colwill - there’s definitely a great footballer in there, but we’re still not seeing it 100%. I like the fact that he knows his own failings and definitely likes playing for Enzo.
Marc Cucurella - good defence and helped the overload on the left that gave Cole Palmer space
Enzo Fernandez - had an excellent game, surprised to see him taken off when he was, but maybe due to international games. Needs to attack those spaces in the box more often as scoreboard goals
Moises Caicedo - easy, one word does it-unbelievable. Without doubt man of the match and grows in stature week after week.
Cole Palmer - look fresh and inventive and back to something like his best. Nice to see him get an assist. The next goal is not far away.
Nico Jackson - perhaps you don’t know what you’ve got until you don’t have it. Jackson last night created so much difficulty for what I supposed to be two of Spurs is better players. He worked hard and will be better for that 80+ minutes. He also helps Cole Palmer and they are excellent together on the pitch.
caicedo has been incredible but I'm not sure he has been our resounding POTS. Its so understated how important cucurella has been. Mostly locks up his winger every game but its not even just that. The help he adds to the attack is insane and was so integral to our early season scoring. Look i'm not saying caicedo shouldn't be pots, im just saying cucurella is heavily in that debate