Chelsea 1 Manchester City 3 - Tactical analysis

Apart from the sheer difference in quality, here's a look at our concerning tactical flaws

Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and say the other team was better all over the park - better players, better coached, and better as a collective.

However, there are tactical issues that Frank Lampard is failing to address right now in our games, and they were especially highlighted against City last night.

Pressing

Lampard would class his team as a high pressing team. Yet quite simply, they do not press collectively, and this should be a basic.

They are not in sync when they press, and they are not intense enough. Look at how City hunted the ball down in packs, and their timing was impeccable. If one goes full speed, the other 2 or 3 follow.

For Chelsea, they press individually and not collectively as a team. If your team mate goes, you go. Chelsea pressed, but it was just all over the place and far too easy for City to play out of, thus then creating gaps in Chelsea’s midfield and backline that was exploited by City.

Defending as a unit

Chelsea’s midfield left the defenders far too exposed last night on too many occasions. The decision making of the midfielders is poor.

Lampard likes to play with two 8s, which naturally leaves your holding midfielder isolated. However, to combat this, the two 8s must be in sync - if one goes, the other needs to be more disciplined. If Kante goes, one must drop in.

They played as individuals, rather than as a unit. They needed to drop in and be more compact as a midfield three and play a lot closer to each other.

This is why a 4-2-3-1 formation may have been more suited to play against City, which brings me to my next point…

Flexibility

I fully agree with Lampard using and perfecting one main formation- the 4-3-3 with two 8s. However, for some opposition, such as last night, a more flexible and pragmatic approach would work better.

I’m not saying play on the back foot, defend in numbers and change philosophy entirely. I’m saying, pick a formation with more stability that gives better protection against a team who can be absolutely devastating in attack.

Use a 4-2-3-1 and put an extra midfielder closer to Kante, and closer to the defenders, giving them all that extra protection needed against such a quality side.

These are three fundamental tactical issues that I am seeing right now, and these are some of the reasons why the boss is under so much pressure right now, and why some want him sacked.

These are things to be worked on at the training ground, and I hope they get addressed.