Why Alonso's New Chelsea Tactics FAILED Against Arsenal

Analysis of why Alonso's new Chelsea tactics failed against Arsenal, focusing on defensive setups and Arsenal's effective rotations.

Key Takeaways

Alonso's hybrid defensive system of shifting between back four and back five was innovative but flawed.
Arsenal's dynamic fullbacks and forward rotations exposed Chelsea's tactical weaknesses.
Numerical equality in defense was prioritized over fixed formations but was difficult to maintain.
Chelsea's offensive struggles compounded their defensive issues, limiting goal-scoring opportunities.
Chelsea needs to better adapt and drill their system to handle fluid opposition tactics.

What the video covers

Chelsea suffered their first Premier League defeat of the season against Arsenal.
The video breaks down the unique tactical approach of Chelsea's coach Chabby Alonso.
Chelsea started well with an early goal from a free kick but struggled defensively.
Alonso's defensive setup fluctuated between a back four and back five depending on game state and opposition positioning.
Chelsea aimed for numerical equality and cover rather than traditional formations.
Arsenal's use of fullbacks, especially Calipuri, created marking difficulties for Chelsea.
Arsenal's fluid rotation and linked forward line exploited Chelsea's new and less drilled system.
Chelsea struggled to create offensive chances, generating less than 0.5 expected goals.
The hybrid defensive system began to break down due to player movements and Arsenal's aggressive attacking half-space play.
The video concludes with lessons Chelsea can learn from Arsenal's defensive and offensive organization.

Chapters

Why did Alonso's Chelsea tactics fail against Arsenal?

Alonso's tactics failed mainly because Chelsea's hybrid defensive system was exposed by Arsenal's fluid fullbacks and forward rotations, which Chelsea struggled to mark and adapt to.

Did Chelsea play a back four or back five against Arsenal?

Chelsea played both a back four and a back five simultaneously, shifting between the two depending on opposition positioning and the game state.

What was the main defensive strategy Alonso wanted to implement?

Alonso prioritized numerical equality and positional cover over fixed formations, aiming to maintain a four-on-four balance in key areas to prevent overloads.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

Speaker A

Chelsea suffered their first defeat of the new Premier League season away to Arsenal. But it was the unique approach from Chabby Alonzo that's got everybody talking. So in this video, we're going to be breaking down the tactics behind Alonzo's setup and ultimately explaining why they simply did not work.

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Alonzo setup and ultimately explaining why they simply did not work. Chelsea get the best possible start of the game with a goal from this free kick really early on. Crucially, they not only win the first ball, but the third

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Chelsea got the best possible start to the game with a goal from this free kick really early on. Crucially, they not only won the first ball, but the third ball after a header from Declan Rice. That keeps it alive and gets it over to Morgan Rogers, who takes an incredibly quick shot.

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out. If you look at Ry right here, he's not set. He's not ready. He can't push off his left foot because it's in fact not planted. Morgan Rogers has already taken the shot and it's heading towards goal. This is why it's so important. His

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Now, this is really important because the speed with which he takes this shot really does catch Ryer out. If you look at Ryer right here, he's not set. He's not ready. He can't push off his left foot because it's in fact not planted. Morgan Rogers has already taken the shot and it's heading towards goal.

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in hand, Chelsea now had something to defend which leads us nicely into their defensive setup and protocols. I've seen so many people wonder whether Chelsea played a back four or a back five when actually the answer is they did both.

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This is why it's so important. His fleetness of foot was paramount to getting this goal, and it means that Ryer wasn't able to scramble across this line once the shot was taken. Really accurate, really well hit, and it means that Chelsea go one nil up.

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explain why this happened and how it came about, we need to understand what Chabilono is wanting from this game. He speaks so many times about a lack of formation and more about numbers.

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With a goal in hand, Chelsea now had something to defend, which leads us nicely into their defensive setup and protocols. I've seen so many people wonder whether Chelsea played a back four or a back five when actually the answer is they did both.

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And this is where the Arsenal problem comes in because of the way that Arsenal use their fullbacks. In particular, Calipuri who goes walkabout so many times. I mean, he's absolutely everywhere at times and it's so incredibly difficult to mark him. Take a

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They played a back five and a back four simultaneously, changing all the time depending on a number of factors. One of them being positions of the opposition players. Another being the actual game state that was in motion. Now before we explain why this happened and how it came about, we need to understand what Chabby Alonzo is wanting from this game.

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defensive line and that midfield line. But crucially, don't think about the formation. Think about the positions in that particular area of the pitch.

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He speaks so many times about a lack of formation and more about numbers, meaning that the actual structure of the side doesn't necessarily make a difference. It's all about where the players are positioned on the pitch in a certain area. He doesn't want overloads.

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It's a fouron four on this right hand side. This is what Alonzo wants. He wants cover at all times. Just as a little side step for something we're going to be discussing a little bit later, look at the position of Declan

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And this is where the Arsenal problem comes in because of the way that Arsenal use their fullbacks. In particular, Calipuri, who goes walkabout so many times. I mean, he's absolutely everywhere at times and it's so incredibly difficult to mark him. Take a look at this.

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setup a little bit later because the similarities are really interesting. As this ball goes down the right hand side, you've now got a four on four. But crucially, Califuriori is in a completely different position to where you'd expect him. And it's down to this

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This is early on in that first half. Look at Chelsea's back four and you've got that midfield four. Netto and Palmer have just swapped here for a second, but it's essentially a 4-4-2. Look at where Calipuri is in between that defensive line and that midfield line.

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into a right wing back role when Arsenal looked to go forwards and create that numerical advantage down the left hand side. It meant that Chelsea changed from a 442 into a 541.

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But crucially, don't think about the formation. Think about the positions in that particular area of the pitch. Arsenal progressing down Chelsea's left-hand side, their right. And if you look here, you've actually got a Chelsea player for every single Arsenal player.

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They are intrinsically linked with one another. And it means that when they move into certain areas in certain quadrants of the pitch. If a team like Chelsea who is very new is not necessarily as drilled with this, you

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It's a four-on-four on this right-hand side. This is what Alonzo wants. He wants cover at all times. Just as a little side step for something we're going to be discussing a little bit later, look at the position of Declan Rice.

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actually quite deep and they're quite narrow. They've closed the spaces in between the midfield and the defensive lines. But one small movement from Havitz really starts to unlock this. He moves from that central role, vacating one of the Chelsea center backs and

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He's the deepest player here in between both of the center backs looking to progress the ball forwards. Martin Odegaard has swapped with Calipuri and is now a little bit deeper. Just remember that for when we look at the Chelsea setup a little bit later because the similarities are really interesting.

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sudden, a domino effect begins to run through because as Havitz runs offside, he's going to get himself back on in a second. Chelsea are now being manipulated possibly without even knowing it. The ball gets played into Declan Rice and he fires it first time

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As this ball goes down the right-hand side, you've now got a four-on-four. But crucially, Calipuri is in a completely different position to where you'd expect him. And it's down to this attempted overload that Alonzo wants to stop.

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double up that Chelsea I'm sure would particularly want. Havitz drifts infield and because of the position of Odigard, he stops Laquat from being aggressive onto Hav. This gives Havitz the split second to be able to take an early shot.

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So if we take that idea and run with it, what Alonzo wanted to try and do is make sure that they had a numerical equality for Chelsea's defense at all times. Netto ended up dropping into a right wing-back role when Arsenal looked to go forwards and create that numerical advantage down the left-hand side.

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his bottom left hand side quickly enough and it means that it goes in the net.

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It meant that Chelsea changed from a 4-4-2 into a 5-4-1. And it meant that when Arsenal went forwards a lot of the time, what you had was this five Arsenal attackers against Chelsea's five. But the problem that then started to come was with Arsenal's rotation.

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Although it might seem like a huge problem later on down the line, I'm sure these problems will be ironed out, but for now it was a big issue. Chelsea struggled going forwards as well, only creating less than 0.5xG in the entirety

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Arsenal's rotation through their forward line is extremely good. They are intrinsically linked with one another. And it means that when they move into certain areas in certain quadrants of the pitch, if a team like Chelsea, who is very new, is not necessarily as drilled with this, you start to have situations fall in favor of Arsenal rather than Alonzo's Chelsea.

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the way that Arsenal used their own players. Fullbacks making high aggressive movements into those attacking half spaces. You have the likes of Cole Palmer dropping into a deeper role to help pick up the ball.

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And situations like this really start to become a problem. This is in fact where Arsenal's goal comes from. You can see Chelsea in their 5-4-1 here. They're actually quite deep and they're quite narrow. They've closed the spaces in between the midfield and the defensive lines.

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Then you've got Ree James dropping in between both of the center backs. Lavia did this as well. They swapped positions at times, but this is extremely similar to the way that Declan Rice dropped between the two Arsenal center backs in

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But one small movement from Havertz really starts to unlock this. He moves from that central role, vacating one of the Chelsea center backs and begins to help Saka. This creates a 2v1 situation onto Hatau.

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the big contrast between Arsenal and Chelsea and perhaps where Chelsea might be able to learn a little bit more in terms of their defensive work is the way that Arsenal dealt with this Chelsea attack. Instead of dropping into a back

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Now you could argue that Fana is following the run, but he's not close enough. He's not close enough because of the distance between himself and Laqua. And all of a sudden, a domino effect begins to run through because as Havertz runs offside, he's going to get himself back on in a second.

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even with a number of spaces that Chelsea were able to open up, nothing really materialized. And that's down to the really good aggressiveness and work rate from this Arsenal side. green shoots for Chelsea, but that's all they are at the minute. And Arsenal really

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Chelsea are now being manipulated possibly without even knowing it. The ball gets played into Declan Rice and he fires it first time into Havertz. Now at this point he's behind Hatau because Hatau is now occupied with Saka. Fano is too far away and he's not marking the player.

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You've got Chelsea in your back four, but they're now going to switch. They're going to alter their formation to allow them to have some better attacking opportunities. But the similarities as well between the way that Chelsea move forwards and Arsenal is really quite

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So once Havertz picks the ball up, he now has a free 1v1 against Fano rather than the double up that Chelsea I'm sure would particularly want. Havertz drifts infield and because of the position of Odegaard, he stops Laquat from being aggressive onto Havertz.

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way that Declan Rice worked. Cole Palmer's now dropped into a deeper area to allow for Achen Pong to now move forwards into a half space. Again, much like the way Erdigard played with Arsenal in this game and now you're als

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This gives Havertz the split second to be able to take an early shot. Now remember the early shot that we mentioned with David Ryer, the exact same thing happens with Martinez. As Havertz takes the shot, Martinez isn't set.

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Saka is now following the movement of Hatau rather than dropping into a back five. I believe this could be the evolution that Chelsea might look for if this is still the way they want to go.

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His leg isn't planted, which means he can't push off. He can't move down to his bottom left-hand side quickly enough and it means that it goes in the net. Only now is he set and the ball is about to be fired into the net.

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Hatau making a dotting run. Jah Pedro coming towards the ball. Morgan Rogers now looking for some space. He finds Netto out on that far side, but it was the response from this Arsenal side that is so so impressive. A double up

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It's down to this good rotation that Arsenal managed to unlock this Chelsea hybrid defense. Although it might seem like a huge problem later on down the line, I'm sure these problems will be ironed out, but for now it was a big issue.

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had a few months. give them more time. And I believe that Chelsea might be able to find the evolution that a lot of their fans are looking for. It just hasn't come through quite yet. And unfortunately for Alonzo and Chelsea,

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Chelsea struggled going forwards as well, only creating less than 0.5 xG in the entirety of the match. This back four that they reverted to after dealing with the attacks from Arsenal meant that they had a number of different options.

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adapt their formation from a back four to a back five, it really does start to open up gaps and holes within this defensive setup, which is why they might not continue with it later on down the line and opt for something quite similar

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And in fact, the way that Chelsea wanted to go forwards has a lot of similarities to the way that Arsenal used their own players. Fullbacks making high aggressive movements into those attacking half spaces. You have the likes of Cole Palmer dropping into a deeper role to help pick up the ball.

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going to need to change and transition into that back five. And it's in that moment that you're going to have the lack of communication and the lack of awareness to be able to pick up certain runners in certain spaces. Defenders

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This allows for those fullbacks to move forwards, but there's a big similarity with the way that Martin Odegaard actually plays in this Arsenal side. Then you've got Reece James dropping in between both of the center backs.

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Alonzo didn't want in certain occasions because of that lack of defensive cohesion and the lack of that real communication. And it's through this that Chelsea are finally exploited and laid bare. And I alluded to it a little bit earlier, but this is the moment that

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Lavia did this as well. They swapped positions at times, but this is extremely similar to the way that Declan Rice dropped between the two Arsenal center backs in that image I showed you earlier on.

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really does start to make this system, this hybrid system fall apart. Havitz picks up the ball and swivels brilliantly and plays it over towards Cal Fury. Now, this is the player that Netto is meant to be looking for. But

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And what they create is something very similar as well, especially with the high attacking fullbacks, creating a number of different numerical advantages and posing a number of different problems for the opposition defense.

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right winger. It's an issue because Califur is essentially unmarked at this point and Netto is just filling in the space. This is a problem because not only is Netto not comfortable as a right center back, but now you're leaving an

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But the big contrast between Arsenal and Chelsea and perhaps where Chelsea might be able to learn a little bit more in terms of their defensive work is the way that Arsenal dealt with this Chelsea attack. Instead of dropping into a back five and simply creating that numerical equality, what they actually did was be far more aggressive, working on 2v1 situations.

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that starts to open up the space and the channel for a pass from the Arsenal left winger into that central area where Havitz finds himself. Now, this is exactly what I'm talking about with what Alonzo didn't want. He doesn't want a

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numerical disadvantage. He wants to make sure that there is equality. But because of Neto moving into that space just because he wants to, because it's a natural thing for him to do, because he thinks he's doing the right thing, it

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leaves Fara exposed in a 2v1 situation. Does he cover Odigard or does he cover Havz? He can't cover both because Laqua has now left to mark Califury. It's through this that Havitz dummies it brilliantly and leaves it towards

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Odigard who manages to finish it brilliantly and Arsenal ultimately get their win. It might seem like I'm being overly harsh and critical on this Chelsea side and perhaps I am, but that's only because I think that the ceiling for this side and this manager

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with this side is so so very high. And although they're not there yet, give them time and they surely will be. It's an exciting time for Chelsea because they can only get better from here and that is a scary thought for the rest of

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the Premier League. But of course guys, let me know your thoughts in the comment section below on this game and how you saw the game play out. What did you make of Alonzo's alterations and his hybrid system? Let me know. I would love to

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hear from you. Thank you ever so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed. I hope you learned something new and I hope to see you in the next one. But until then, my friends, take care.

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I'm going to

Topics:ChelseaAlonso tacticsPremier LeagueArsenalfootball tacticsdefensive setupback fourback fivefullbacksfootball analysis

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