Joao Pedro thinks he knows the trick to beating a back five after Chelsea’s win vs Wolves
Joao Pedro played his part in Chelsea’s 3-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
Pedro scored Chelsea’s second goal, which was his fourth in the Premier League this season.
Malo Gusto and Pedro Neto grabbed the Blues’ other two to help the team move up to third in the table.
Chelsea counter attacked superbly, according to Wolves interim manager James Collins, but Enzo Maresca’s men did not always get the chance to.
- READ MORE: What Alan Smith noticed about Alejandro Garnacho instantly in Chelsea’s 3-0 win vs Wolves
Joao Pedro tells teammates to continue flooding the box
Wolves’ back five and the rest of the team spent most of the first half in their own box, limiting Chelsea’s counter-attacking opportunities. However, the key to eventually breaking down their back five was getting numbers into the box, says Pedro.
“Playing against a back five who will sit in, it’s never easy,” the forward said via Chelsea’s official club website after the game. “You have to get good numbers into the box. We showed that with the first goal. Malo was there and then the game was more open.
“It’s really important to put numbers in the box when playing against a back five. It’s always difficult but that’s what we needed to do, and it paid off for us with the goals and, of course, the win.”
While it was Pedro who netted Chelsea’s second goal and killed the match, one of his compatriots received a lot of credit.
After the 24-year-old’s strike, Chelsea fans were singing Estevao Willian’s name. The young winger managed to make an impact once again, with it being his ball into the box that found its way to Pedro.
Enzo Maresca trying to find strategies for beating back five
Following Chelsea’s surprise 2-1 loss to Sunderland last month, Maresca has been looking for ways to win against a back five.
Chelsea analysts have been watching games from last season where the Blues lost to a team using a five-man defence, and whatever information that they passed on to Maresca before the Wolves match seemed to be beneficial.
While they struggled in the first half, in the end, Chelsea’s attacking performance was quite a good one. For example, they had six big chances during the 90 minutes at Stamford Bridge.
| Chelsea’s attacking numbers vs Wolves | Total |
| Goals | 3 |
| xG | 3.31 |
| Big chances | 6 |
| Shots | 20 |
| Shots inside the box | 13 |
| Touches in opposition box | 36 |
| Final third entries | 70 |
Going forward, the Club World Cup winners are undoubtedly going to come up against more teams who choose to employ a five-man defence.
After their victory over Wolves, hopefully they have found the formula for succeeding against such set-ups. It would not be a surprise if Burnley used a back five when the Premier League returns after the international break.
from Chelsea FC Latest News & Club Updates | The Chelsea Chronicle https://ift.tt/YFqMGhB
Post a Comment