CHELSEA 2-1 LEICESTER
Chelsea goals: Sterling 47' (a: James), 63' (a: Cucurella)
Leicester goals: Barnes 66' (a: Vardy)
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SUBS: Azpi (for Mount, 46'), Kovacic (for Jorginho, 75'), Pulisic (for Sterling, 75'), Chilwell (for Cucurella, 90+2')
I couldn't keep track of this new hybrid formation, it looks to be our usual 3-4-3 in defence but then it swaps to a 4-2-2-2 in attack, with Cucu and Reece getting the freedom to push up and players like RLC getting furthest upfield and setting up attacks.
It was such a fun game to watch, purely because it went back and forth: we had periods of dominance and energy and high possession, Leicester being forced to sit back and hit us on the counter. When we went down to 10 we had to play a bit more cautiously whilst also looking for a solid goal lead, and then put in a defensive shift in the latter parts of the game to avoid a draw.
GK + DEF:
Mendy improved on the Leeds game massively - it was back to normal for him, no clean sheet is obviously a bit of a bummer but the Leicester goal was deserved and well worked. Several strong saves to keep the 3 points, but also had his work cut out at some points due to Leicester just not being clinical enough/making the most of their opportunities.
Our defence in the second half, especially with 10 men, was tremendous, standouts were absoutely Silva in the middle and also Azpi when he came on after the first half. Chalobah was a welcome addition too and I hope he can get involved in more games.
Silva is a monster, at his age, the performances he manages to put in - there was a moment where he was 2 on 1 in our own half and managed to escape the press on his own, such a strong moment from him.
I'm really glad we held on to Azpi as well because even though he doesn't start games much anymore he's still very key to this team and adds that leadership quality.
Cucu and Reece both nabbed an assist and I hope that they can keep these positions (espeically with Fofana incoming) because their attacking talents and crossing ability is what gets us goals, seen today with Sterling getting a brace thanks to their assists.
It does look like Chilwell is becoming our new backup, as Emerson has left now for West Ham and Alonso doesn't look like he's getting back into the team anytime soon.
Soon we'll have a Cucu-K2-Silva-Fofana-Reece back 5 and that'll no doubt be one of the best football defences on paper at the moment
Even with K2 out this game through suspension we were still solid, just need to work on not making mistakes that lead to silly goals being conceded.
MIDFIELD:
Once again I think Gallagher, whilst he did show a lot of energy and passion in the midfield, isn't being used right in this team, and two energetic but needless fouls resulted in a red card for him after half an hour. If we can find a way to play him in and around the opposition box (offensive line?) rather than as a holding midfielder, we would look so much better. Whether that's a position change or formation change, I'd love to see it happen.
I still think we need an extra midfielder, or give Ampadu or Carney a shot - we're going to have to deal with Kante and Kova having injury issues, and Jorgi is alright, but is prone to individual mistakes.
Ruben kept his hybrid position and I've been impressed with his ball progression and dribbling as well as his confidence on the pitch, there's still some stuff to be done regarding decision making and other things but I'm so glad he's found a way back into this Chelsea team
+ Jorginho should have got a penalty after Ruben was fouled in the box, I won't say too much but I really hate these stupid offside calls where the player is a pixel offside, can go either way just depends on who's reffing I guess
ATTACK:
I was half expecting to see Broja or Pulisic in the starting XI just for a bit of variety but it seems Tuchel is happy and reliant on this front three who haven't scored at all yet. That changed today with Sterling grabbing two, and potentially Auba joining before the end of the month as well, we'll wait and see.
Sterling's two goals were great and it's exactly why we signed him - prem proven and just instinctively knows what positons to get into + how to just pull goals out of nowhere. The first goal, scooping it into that top corner, was class, and the second was just him getting into the goalscoring position for a simple tap in. Could have had a hat trick too with an open goal shot coming back off the post, but either way it's great to see.
I can't say much about Mount cause he was subbed off at half time, fine, I guess? Havertz is a weird one because you can see that he's giving his best out there, just doesn't have anything to show for it yet. He'll start scoring soon though, I'm sure.
Broja needs a start, or even a longer sub appearance, because I'm so certain he can thrive in this team if given the oppurtunity, and especially when this front three isn't exactly firing on all cylinders compared to other top-flight teams.
OVERALL
It was the best possible response after the Leeds game, yes it's the same issues of needing to score more whilst also not giving away goals, but we're getting there.
A very scrappy game in the end and many will say that the stats will suggest Leicester should have got more out of it, but holding onto the win with 10 is always going to be impressive. A 'take the points and run' kind of situation.
It's going to be intreresting to see how Fofana fits in, as well as any other extra signings we might squeeze in as well. I'll write something seperate about the summer window as a whole as it's certainly been frantic due to us not having a Director of Football at the moment.
Midweek fixture coming up with Southhampton away, need to win that one convincingly