How Leicester should setup to beat Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea

To understand how Tuchel’s side operates, I will dissect the stages of their game. The initial stage is the building stage, in which Chelsea utilise all three centre-backs to create superiority against the opposing team’s press. If pressed by more than a front-two, the wing-backs will drop into defence and create an additional passing lane for the defence to progress through.

Having ball-carriers in the wide centre-back roles, mainly Antonio Rüdiger and Andreas Christensen, allows both players to drift into midfield in possession when required. They’re also both adept at finding passes and provide extra recovery pace to help Thiago Silva (the central defender) in transitions. The aforementioned Brazilian is exceptional at reading the game, often a step or two ahead of most forwards, and also enjoys having possession at his feet.

The fulcrum of the current Chelsea setup is within the wing-backs; Ben Chilwell and Reece James. Reminiscent of Antonio Conte’s Chelsea, which thrived with Marcos Alonso in the left wing-back position, Tuchel has managed to replicate Liverpool’s model of wide defensive chance creation and, because of this, James is the club’s top contributor for goals and assists (7), with Chilwell scoring three himself.

I will explain the roles of the wingers in this 3-4-3 structure, but essentially the wing-backs have the license to invert — both in the early stages of play (facilitating a pass into the wingers directly from the defence) or in the final third (to occupy the oppositions defenders and free up space for the wingers). Then they’re found either inverted, or referred to as the half-spaces, with options available to them, or wide and with space to cross as a means of creation.