Andre Villas-Boas did not get a perfect introduction to the Premier League as Chelsea were held to a goalless draw by Stoke. Chelsea struggled to take hold of the game in the first half. Not conceding a goal going into half time could be considered an achievement since Stoke put Chelsea under immense pressure from set piece situations. We dominated the second half and created a number of good goal scoring opportunities but failed to score. Two of our best chances of the game were Anelka's chip from the right and Mikel's rocket from outside the box -- both of which were tipped over the bar by the brilliant Asmir Begovic*.

This is not the ideal result for Chelsea but there were some promising signs both in attack and in defense. Here are some thoughts on the game.

There's No Flying Without Width?

Chelsea's lack of width last season has been discussed at length by pundits and armchair football fans alike. Carlo Ancelotti employed Malouda and Anelka on the wings but asked them to tuck to the middle as much as possible, which turns the formation into a 4-3-2-1 (The Christmas Tree), with the full backs providing the width. When it worked, it was brilliant. But when it didn't, it got too crowded in the middle. It is one of Villas-Boas' jobs this season to try to solve that problem.

I have noted before that Villas-Boas likes his 4-3-3 to have 3 forwards, not just one central striker with two "wingers". Against Stoke, he started Malouda (left) and Kalou (right) flanking Torres in the center forward position. Malouda provided a lot of width on the left but Kalou tucked into the middle and played almost like a second striker.

We, Chelsea fans, may be new to this approach but it is not the first time that Villas-Boas has used it. When Porto beat Benfica 2-1 away from home to clinch the league title, Villas-Boas played Hulk on the right as a second striker while Varela provided width on the left.

Was it the right tactics to deploy against Stoke? I think so. But our execution was poor. I don't pretend to know the inner workings of Villas-Boas's mind but here is how I understand his approach. Stoke plays with 4 giant defenders (all over 6 feet) in the back. If Chelsea were to try play through wide positions and whip crosses into the middle, Stoke defenders would have easily dealt with them. So it is understandable that Chelsea wanted to keep the ball on the ground and play through the middle.

If the advantage of having big defenders as the back four is the ability to effectively deal with high crosses, then the disadvantage of the same situation is that these big defenders are slower and much easier to be exposed by a faster and more skillful players. Theoretically, Kalou should have an easier time beating the defender on the right and either put in a low cross/cut-back for Torres and forward-running midfielders, like Lampard and Ramires, or take a shot at goal himself. But he failed to do either. It is unfortunate that Sturridge has to sit out because of the three-game ban because he would have been perfect for this scenario. Sturridge has been executing that role with great success during the pre-season. We missed you badly, Daniel!

Those who were providing width in this game, Malouda, Cole and Bosingwa, also did not do any favors. All three of them combined produced exactly zero successful crosses in this game.

Dealing With The Delap-atador

 

Over the past few seasons, if there is one thing that makes Stoke City stand out in the Premier League, it is Rory Delap's long throw-ins that most defenses have found hard to deal with. These throws are dangerous not only because they are so powerful, but also because Stoke, as I have mentioned above, has great physical presence in the box.

Chelsea, and Petr Cech in particular, dealt very well with this threat. Instead of staying on the goal line and getting ready to come out to punch/grab the ball, the Chelsea goalkeeper stood right up against Stoke's Ryan Shawcross near the edge of the 6 yard box. I don't know who is responsible for this positioning technique but it is genius. We all know that goalkeepers usually get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to pushing and shoving in the penalty box. So, Cech either picked the ball off the air before it gets to a Stoke player or got a foul off of Shawcross as the giant defender moved around in the box. This was how Chelsea successfully defended Delap's throw ins in the first half. Petr Cech drew 3 fouls in this game, as much as Chelsea striker Torres, who was constantly shoved and kicked by Stoke defenders, did.

The "Attacking" Midfielders            

One of the most telling statistics that came out of this game is the number of shots on goal (SOG) that Lampard and Ramires were able to muster -- ZERO. Playing in the two advance positions of the inverted triangle in the midfield, both of them had the freedom to run forward and to get involved with the attack. But as the SOG statistics show, neither of them were able to create enough space to test the Stoke goalkeeper. Ramires did take two shots but they were both off target.

To be fair, Ramires had a lively game down the right hand side, mainly because, as I have said above, Kalou was tucking into the middle more. Lampard also made a couple of good runs; his overlapping run behind Anelka drew away one defender and allowed the French man to execute his outrageous chip. But this is hardly enough if we want to dominate opponents and win games. I don't think it is solely their fault because their games are affected by how their teammates played but this is an aspect of Chelsea's game that needs improvement in the future.

Man of the Match

 

John Obi Mikel is my MOTM in this game. Aside from a couple of miss passes, Mikel held his ground well in the defensive midfield position. He won 3 tackles (only 1 behind John Terry) and 6 interceptions (more than any Chelsea players). Mikel's presence in front of the back four prevented most of Stoke's attacking threats; Stoke City had only 1 shot on target in this game. What's more, he was able to get a shot on target unlike his attacking midfield counter parts. He ripped a dipping shot from outside the box; only an acrobatic save from Begovic* prevented the Nigerian international from getting on the score sheet and win the game for Chelsea. His performance in the game is the more impressive now that we know about his dad's disappearance. Mikel was informed on Saturday that his dad has not come back from work on Friday. We all pray for you, Mikel, and we hope your dad will return home safely.

The much improved Fernando Torres, who almost looked like his old goal-scoring-self, gets an honorable mention as one of the better Chelsea players in this game. The Spanish striker would have scored or at least gotten more chances if he has had better support both from his "wingers" and the midfielders.

The Take Away

I will just quote the manager for the conclusion:

"I couldn't be pleased with a point but it is one of the most difficult grounds to play away from home"  (Source)

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* The great performance that Asmir Begovic has displayed in this game makes me think about our own goalkeeping situation. Hilario and Turnbull are not the most reliable back ups to Cech. And Thibaut Courtois is not going to be ready soon. Chelsea has previously targeted Begovic but the deal did not go through. He would have been (and could still be) a great back up for Cech. Just a thought.

What do you make of the game? Are you pleased or disappointed? Where can Chelsea improve to get the job done?

Carefree, wherever you may be...