Among the Europe’s elite clubs, Chelsea is arguably one of the best clubs in the world. This club has risen to prominence after Roman Abramovich bought it in 2003.
Roman Abramovich is a Russian Billionaire businessman, investor, and politician.
He bought the London based club in 2003 when Chelsea had a huge debt and was struggling to pay the $23,000,000 interest. Then Abramovich entered and he took over after concluding the deal in just 15 minutes.
The first season after the takeover, in as Roman Abramovich as the owner, Chelsea managed to finish second placed in Premier League table and also managed to reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.
Roman Abramovich-Chelsea owner
It has been a quite transformation for the Roman Abramovich club Chelsea, ever since he bought it, he has spent to keep the academy and his squad.
Chelsea has won the UEFA Champions League for two times first in 2011 and last season with current manager Thomas Tuchel.
Chelsea have also won the Europa League twice and five Premier League titles along with a host of other trophies.
Chelsea regular successes has seen it rank in the seventh spot in the world richest football club index.
This season has seen their triumph win against Zenit St. Petersburg and they are joint top in the league (with Liverpool)
Ever since Thomas Tuchel took as their manager replacing Frank Lampard, Chelsea has formed the better squad any Europe team can never wish to face, they posses, defend and build up and most importantly score goals to secure wins.
But with Tuchel’s on the wheel it is no brainer that he is looking ahead to secure his first League title in England and that will be possible given his squad, so what other factors that make Chelsea a English top team to beat?
1. Tuchel’s tactical inventiveness
It takes a craftsman to polish and make a rough diamond shine.
Tuchel has transformed Chelsea just like his owner did in 2003, since taking over from Frank Lampard and with eight months in-charge, he has won with them the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup.
Thomas Tuchel
The German has turned Chelsea into a tactical machine. His well-drilled gameplay has rubbed off on the players. His tactical flexibility in using a 3-5-2 or a 5-3-2 (which he used against Liverpool after going a man down to salvage a 1-1 draw) shows that the tactician can employ attacking as well as defensive setups within the same game. He also won praise from Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal for the same.
The German has the exact set of players to enact his gameplay. Therefore, with Tuchel’s creativeness, passion and Chelsea’s durability, this could be the making of another dynasty at Stamford Bridge starting with the Premier League title in the 2021-22 season it wont be a surprise.
2. Impregnable defence
Chelsea’s outstanding defense offers them sturdiness and cohesive work-rate off the ball.
Tuchel typically employs three Centre-backs with Andreas Christensen, Thiago Silva and Antonio Rudiger forming an indomitable back three.
Rudiger and Christensen
The trio brings the perfect blend of defensive quality, aerial and on-ball capability to the side a luxury that Tuchel perfectly works with.
The wing-back pair of Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso provide additional width in the attack and numbers in defense. They are further backed by the young English duo of Reece James and Ben Chilwell.
The saying ‘Defense wins you titles’ perfectly applies to Chelsea’s case.
The Blues conceded the fewest number of goals in a Champions League season last term with only four. This season, Tuchel’s side have conceded only once so far. Therefore, their impregnable defense offers them a great chance at toppling their rivals to the title this season.
3. Cohesive gameplay and work-rate
Chelsea work very cohesively in their passing and their work rate on and especially off the ball. The Blues are abreast with their rivals in this regard in the Premier League this season.
In the first five games in the English top-flight, Chelsea have completed 85% of their passes, the third-highest in the league. Chelsea completed 91% of their short passes, following Manchester City. Out of the 2,830 passes that they have attempted so far this season, only 443 (15.6%) were long passes.
This shows how much the Blues value their possession. The team cumulatively exerts more than 135 pressures per game and are successful in 31.4% of their pressures in the league, more than any of their rivals.
4. Tactical flexibility
One unspoken characteristic of Chelsea is their flexibility to any type of gameplay.
The Blues have always flourished under different managers, be it Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri, Jose Mourinho and even now with Tuchel.
The club has played under plenty of different systems and always manage to find versatile players.
These players have thrived in multiple systems. Therefore, the squad is now tuned to different types of tactics and gameplay. Their versatility and experience would mean that Chelsea have the option to tweak and play under different systems within games, offering them more durability.
5. Squad depth
Chelsea boasts arguably the strongest squad in the Premier League at present.
The club possesses quality options all around the park from goalkeepers to forwards. The London outfit signed Lukaku from Inter Milan and Saul Niguez from Atletico Madrid to boost their squad.
Kante was brought in the second half against spurs
Their squad depth was evident in the game against Spurs where N’Golo Kante was brought on for Mason Mount.
The tireless Frenchman changed the dynamism of the game, adding more energy to the Chelsea midfield as they ran out 3-0 winners at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
This can only be attributed to the bench strength that Chelsea possess. Their depth will hold them well against their rivals in the race for the Premier League title.
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