Speaker A
So far this season, Chelsea have barely played out from the back. They rarely press the opponent, and they don't even seem that interested in keeping the ball.
Analysis of Xabi Alonso's tactical approach at Chelsea focusing on quick transitions, defensive traps, and associated risks.
Key Takeaways
- Alonso prioritizes rapid forward transitions over possession retention.
- Chelsea's defensive system sets traps to force opponents into predictable long balls.
- Zonal marking and constant positional switches create man advantages but also vulnerabilities.
- Limited midfield numbers make protecting spaces in front of the defense challenging.
- The approach balances high attacking threat with significant defensive risks.
What the video covers
- Chelsea under Xabi Alonso rarely play out from the back or press aggressively but focus on quick forward transitions once possession is won.
- Alonso's system prioritizes pushing the ball far up the pitch quickly, changing Chelsea's identity from possession-based to direct attacking.
- Chelsea's defensive setup involves a high press with a narrow front three designed to force opponents into long balls.
- The team uses a mid-block shape (5-2-3 or 5-3-2) to lure opponents into dangerous midfield positions where Chelsea can regain possession.
- Constant marking switches and man advantages on the ball side are key to Alonso's defensive strategy.
- The system relies on zonal marking and positional flexibility, with wing backs and midfielders dynamically adjusting to opponents' movements.
- Risks include difficulty tracking all runs due to zonal marking and limited midfield protection, leaving spaces vulnerable.
- Opponents can exploit pockets on the opposite flank and spaces in front of the defensive line, creating dangerous attacking opportunities.
- Passing metrics show a preference for long direct balls from the goalkeeper to forwards, bypassing traditional buildup play.
- Despite risks, Alonso's approach creates significant attacking threats with quick counters and overloads in advanced positions.
Chapters
- 00:00Chelsea's New Tactical Identity
- 00:31Is Alonso's System Worth the Risk?
- 01:04High Press and Defensive Traps
- 02:10Forcing Opponents Wide and Long Balls
- 03:05Mid-Block Shape and Positional Flexibility
- 04:18Man Advantage and Marking Switches
- 04:57FMStadio Software Update
- 05:31Risks and Vulnerabilities in Alonso's System
- 07:20Passing Patterns and Structured Attacks
- 09:40Conclusion and Future Trends
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
But the instant they win it, they push forward, overwhelm the opposition, and find gaps behind the defensive line.
Speaker A
And while that's already made Chelsea one of the most dangerous attacking teams in the league, there's also a huge trade-off, because this might be the riskiest system in the league.
Speaker A
The same approach that creates so much space for Chelsea to attack can leave enormous spaces for their opponents to exploit.
Speaker A
So is Alonso's master plan worth the risk? Let's take a look. Welcome back to Football Meta.
Speaker A
Xabi Alonso has immediately changed Chelsea's identity. While previous managers were focused on controlling the game through possession, Alonso seems to have one single priority: get the ball as far up the pitch as quickly as possible.
Speaker A
And to do that, there's been a huge change in how Chelsea set up, mostly down to their defensive approach.
Speaker A
Because as we can see from the statistics, Chelsea really don't seem that interested in keeping the ball, but the reality is that this is a massive trap for the opponents.
Speaker A
The first step is the high press. It's clear from the statistics that pressing is not a huge priority for Xabi Alonso, and compared to last season, we've seen a big drop-off in pressing metrics.
Speaker A
But that doesn't mean they're not aggressive when the opponents are playing out from the back.
Speaker A
And here we can instantly see some of the dangerous traps they set for the opposition.
Speaker A
Chelsea start their press with the front three in a narrow line. Joao Pedro's responsibility is to pick up the keeper, while Morgan Rogers and Palmer shift to the centre backs.
Speaker A
This often leaves a free player in the centre, where one of the two midfielders doesn't instantly push forward to close him down.
Speaker A
This is because Joao Pedro is blocking this passing route directly, and if play shifts to either one of the centre backs, then one of the two attacking midfielders will move into the centre, essentially giving Chelsea an extra man.
Speaker A
And when the ball moves into this position, there is little the centre back can do, so most of the time they end up going long.
Speaker A
And, well, this is exactly what led to Chelsea's opening goal inside a minute against Fulham.
Speaker A
Chelsea force play out wide, and the only option is a long ball. Joao Pedro is preventing a pass back to the keeper, and there is no passing lane into the centre.
Speaker A
Lacroix intercepts the pass, and Palmer and Pedro are now in the perfect position to attack in behind the defence.
Speaker A
We see a similar situation in the game against Brighton. This time Rogers has pushed forward onto the centre back, Joao Pedro is covering the... And the Brighton centre back rushes a pass forward into midfield, where Chelsea have a numerical advantage and can regain possession, and here
Speaker A
their front three has all the space they need between the lines to attack forward.
Speaker A
So most of the time, this shape results in the opposition going long into the defensive line, where Chelsea can either regain possession and instantly counter, or the opposition will win the loose ball and set up their attacking move.
Speaker A
Once the opponents gain control of the ball, we see Chelsea move into their mid-block shape, where again we can see some really interesting traps being set.
Speaker A
From here, Chelsea are mostly in a 5-2-3 or 5-3-2, depending also on what the opponent wants to do.
Speaker A
For example, against Fulham it was more of a front three as they kept three players in the back line.
Speaker A
So Rogers and Palmer were essentially on the same pressing line. But against Brighton, as they usually only kept two players at the back, there were more players further forward, so Rogers stepped into midfield to form a line of three.
Speaker A
And as play would shift from side to side, he would drop into the centre to help balance out the overload that Brighton tried to create.
Speaker A
This shape from Chelsea is not aimed at trying to win the ball back immediately on the defensive line, but their plan is to lure a pass forward into midfield, win the ball in these areas, and then these three players are
Speaker A
again in the perfect position to attack. So Alonso is actively inviting the opponents to pass the ball into dangerous positions, but it's a clear trap once they've committed.
Speaker A
This can happen quite linearly, for example in this clip here with Reece James intercepting the pass forward and quickly attacking the back line, but most of the time they also require a bit of support from the defensive line.
Speaker A
Alonso wants to start with a back five, but these players are not fixed in position and will follow the opponents and jump forward onto any player that might be coming towards the ball.
Speaker A
Look here early on against Brighton, how any player that is facing away from goal is tracked all the way forward.
Speaker A
Then once this player is no longer involved in the move, Chelsea reform their defensive line and cover the space in behind.
Speaker A
It's a system that essentially always wants to create a man advantage on the side of the ball, so it requires constant switches in marking.
Speaker A
The wing backs might push forward onto the full backs, so the centre halves need to step half, but at times they will need to follow the runs into the half spaces, so will need to push centrally and swap the two holding midfielders.
Speaker A
If done effectively, then it means the team in possession will always be surrounded, and is one of the reasons why we're seeing teams go long frequently, or attempting to attack the backline directly, as any intercepted pass here is
Speaker A
instantly a tough situation to stop. Before we go any further, if you like the animations you see in this video, then you can recreate them with my tactic software FMStadio.
Speaker A
We recently just made our biggest update to FMStadio yet. You can now add movement trails to show how a player is moving across the animation.
Speaker A
We've added orientation so you can see where a player is looking when they pass the ball, and we've added different types of arrows and polygons to add even more context to your tactics.
Speaker A
We're so happy to see FMStadio grow, and the feedback we're getting is truly incredible, so if you want to check it out, you can get started right away at fmStadio.com.
Speaker A
However, like we've mentioned at the start of the video, and based on what we've seen so far in their opening games, this system is not without its risks.
Speaker A
By allowing the opponents to have control of the ball and keeping to these more zonal principles with switches in marking, it can be difficult to always keep track of every single run.
Speaker A
For example, early on in the Brighton game we see Fofana pick up the attacking mid, and Malo Gusto is on the holding midfielder.
Speaker A
But then Fofana calls for Malo Gusto to pick up the full back, so he shifts out wide to the right.
Speaker A
But now, Boscaglia is completely free to receive the ball in the centre, and Fofana is no longer near the attacking midfielder, and can't intercept the pass over the top, with Brighton finding themselves in a very dangerous position.
Speaker A
But even more dangerous than that, because of this system only really having two midfielders, it's difficult for Chelsea to protect these spaces in front of the defensive line.
Speaker A
And as they shift over to one side to gain a numerical advantage, if they're not able to force a pass centrally or into the defensive line, then these switches in play can cause a lot of issues for the back line.
Speaker A
Take this move here: Lavia and Gusto are both shifted over to the right side of the pitch, and Brighton have two players stretching the pitch on the left.
Speaker A
Hato can't step out because of the threat of the ball down the line, so by the time Lavia has made his way over, there is all the time to set up a cross onto the back post, where Brighton have two players and a
Speaker A
perfect delivery forces a save from Martinez. Even from more structured attacks, these pockets on the opposite flank give the opponents a lot of time to get the ball into the box, and all it...
Speaker A
this defensive system to unravel. So while Chelsea so far have been able to outscore their opponents, there have been a lot of risky moments in defence where the opposition is able to carve out dangerous opportunities.
Speaker A
However, the defensive setup is only half the story, because so far Chelsea also have one of the best attacks in the league.
Speaker A
Firstly let's talk about build up, or the lack thereof. In fact in Martinez's first game in goal against Brighton, Chelsea didn't play out from the back a single time.
Speaker A
By looking at the pass metrics, we can see that the most common passing combination in this game was in fact a long direct ball from Martinez into Joao Pedro.
Speaker A
This is ultimately the reason why Chelsea finished the first couple of games with such and field dominance.
Speaker A
But this is also the main reason why they were able to create so much space to attack.
Speaker A
As if Joao Pedro wins this duel, then Palmer and Rogers are ready to pick up the loose ball, and rapid players like Pedro Neto on the right can immediately attack in behind.
Speaker A
But even though they're not playing out from the back, there are some really interesting patterns of play once they hold the ball and start to build a structured attack.
Speaker A
The base shape is a 3-4-2-1, and most of the time what they attempt to do is to drag the press forward and look for long balls in behind.
Speaker A
But if this direct ball isn't available, then we can actually finally start to see some of the more intricate patterns of play that we would expect from a manager like Xabi Alonso.
Speaker A
In a usual positional setup, this formation is excellent at doing a few things at once.
Speaker A
It's easy to stretch the pitch with the wing backs pushing forward. You have good support in the centre with this box midfield, and it also allows you to quickly get players forward in attack.
Speaker A
With these two attacking midfielders, operating in the half spaces and connecting the front five.
Speaker A
But Alonso has a different plan, and he wants his players to have more positional freedom.
Speaker A
Specifically, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers rotate in a way that makes it very easy for Chelsea to progress down one side of the pitch.
Speaker A
Rather than always hovering in the same pockets, Palmer and Rogers will nearly always shift to the same side of the ball.
Speaker A
Palmer will often drop off the defensive line, freeing space for Morgan Rogers to move more centrally.
Speaker A
And while dropping off the defence, this also allows one of the two midfielders to attack forward in the half space.
Speaker A
Meaning there is no specific reference in this position, and Chelsea can easily get five or six players all in the same space.
Speaker A
Watch this move in their opening game against Fulham. Palmer and Rogers both move to the right flank.
Speaker A
Palmer drops towards the ball, and Malo Gusto attacks forward, with Rogers then occupying the space between the lines.
Speaker A
Eventually they shift play to the left, and both these players quickly come over to this flank as well.
Speaker A
And this time, because Fulham tried to stop the overload on the right, are now exposed on the left, and Palmer is free to receive the ball and play Rogers in behind on the flank.
Speaker A
With this setup it means the vast majority of Chelsea's chance creation is starting from a deeper position, with more through balls in behind and passes into the space out wide, with runs into the half space and cutbacks back across the box.
Speaker A
And I think this is an extremely fresh approach from Xabi Alonso one that could potentially get teams out of their low block, or can attack teams quickly before they have time to get set up in their defensive shape.
Speaker A
So there's certainly still a lot to understand about Xabi Alonso but I think Chelsea's start has been interesting for a few different reasons.
Speaker A
Firstly, it potentially points to a changing tactical landscape, where control through possession isn't necessarily seen as the best way of winning a game of football.
Speaker A
And we might be seeing more and more managers going back to this more chaotic style of football, with more of a focus on the individual quality of the players.
Speaker A
However, this last point is also extremely important, because Chelsea can afford to do this because of the outstanding front three of Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers.
Speaker A
So he can rely on their creativity to get them out of sticky situations. But if these players stop firing then this system could become quite tricky for Chelsea.
Speaker A
So I'm very curious to see how Chelsea develop over the season, and I also want to know what you guys think of Alonso's start at Chelsea in the comments down below.
Speaker A
Thanks for watching.
Topics:Xabi AlonsoChelsea FCfootball tacticshigh pressmid-block defensecounter attackpositional playzonal markingfootball analysisFMStadio
![[YTP] JORDAN’S LAST STAND (SUPERCUT) — Transcript](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ioyaZ39gV5I/maxresdefault.jpg)
![[YTP] OOPS, ALL RATS! (SUPERCUT) — Transcript](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Wl-xtUEGjOI/maxresdefault.jpg)
