Pochettino’s Tactical Shift That Saved Chelsea – The Cucurella-Caicedo Pair
Following a humiliating 0-5 defeat to Arsenal, Mauricio Pochettino made decisive tactical adjustment during the halftime break against Aston Villa. Despite Chelsea facing a 2-0 deficit with dim prospects for a comeback, Pochettino’s tweaks revitalized the team’s hopes, leading to a turnaround and a draw. Continuing this approach in subsequent matches, the revised strategy yielded decisive victories: 2-0 against Tottenham and 5-0 versus West Ham, bringing Chelsea within two points of a spot in European competitions.
Enzo Fernandez’s Absence
Before discussing the specific change implemented by Pochettino, we must first examine what prompted or made this adjustment possible. A key factor was the absence of Enzo Fernandez.
In Pochettino’s setup, Fernandez plays the pivot role alongside Moises Caicedo, facilitating the transition from defense to offense in the construction phase. However, Fernandez often adopted a slightly more advanced position than Caicedo, who found himself isolated between the defensive and midfield lines. For example, during the match against Arsenal.
From their positions, we can see that Enzo Fernandez predominantly operated in Arsenal’s half. He was mainly positioned on the right side half-space, occasionally dropping back to his own half during the build-up phase. On the other hand, Moises Caicedo played in Chelsea’s half, moving back to receive the ball from the defensive line. Being isolated, Arsenal capitalized on this by applying aggressive pressing, which posed significant challenges for the Blues.
Pochettino’s Adjustments
Conor Gallagher Steps… Down?
With Enzo Fernandez absent, Pochettino opted to use Conor Gallagher as the pivot in the construction zone, working alongside Caicedo. Although this solution was functional, it presented a significant disadvantage: Gallagher could not leverage his strengths, such as high pressing and the ability to create dangerous attacking phases.
Statistically, to support the above claim, Gallagher ranks second, after Cole Palmer, in assists (7) and goal creating actions (13). In terms of ball recovery, he is tied with Badiashile, averaging 1.2 interceptions per match.
Cucurella Inverts During Build-Up
At halftime against Aston Villa, Mauricio Pochettino decided to make a change that unlocked the situation and reversed the 0-2 score. He opted to invert Marc Cucurella in the build-up phase, moving him from the left wing to the center of the field, alongside Moises Caicedo. Cucurella is well-suited for this role, having excellent passing skills, decision-making abilities, and performance under pressure.
In the build-up phase, Badiashile positions himself closer to the left wing, Thiago Silva stays central, and Trevor Chalobah covers the right wing. Thus, Cucurella can invert in the center alongside Caicedo, allowing Cole Palmer to free up the central space. Together with Noni Madueke on the right flank, they form a highly dangerous duo, while Conor Gallagher is pushed forward, exploiting the central space created by Cucurella’s rotation.
In the defensive phase, Cucurella falls back to the left wing, while Conor Gallagher drops into the center alongside Caicedo. This allows Pochettino to maintain the benefits during the construction phase, providing Caicedo with a partner and maximizing Gallagher’s potential, all without compromising the defensive structure.
Cucurella’s average position is more central, almost on the same vertical line as Badiashile.
In his play, Cucurella predominantly covers the central area of the field on the left wing and participates in defense near the edge of the 16-yard box.
Additionally, we can see that Conor Gallagher, wearing number 23, has a more advanced average position compared to Cucurella, number 3, and Caicedo, number 25.
Results and Further Questions for Pochettino
Since implementing this tactic, Pochettino has achieved impressive results: overcoming a two-goal deficit against Aston Villa, securing a 2-0 victory against Tottenham, and triumphing 5-0 over West Ham. Caicedo has performed remarkably well in this configuration, and Cucurella has been able to better utilize his qualities in the construction phase.
However, two important questions remain for Pochettino to address. The first is what will happen when Enzo Fernandez returns? Given the good results with the current configuration, where will Fernandez fit? If he takes over Conor Gallagher’s role, then Gallagher could play centrally as number 10, and Cole Palmer would return to the right wing. However, this would mean dropping Noni Madueke, who has been sensational in recent games.
The second question concerns the return of Malo Gusto, the right-back. Gusto is an offensive player who likes to advance in attack alongside Palmer or Madueke. But, if Malo Gusto advances and Cucurella rotates to the center, this could leave only two players in the defensive line, posing a risk given Chelsea’s fluctuating defensive performance this season.
This change has brought a wave of good results, eagerly anticipated by both fans and players. If Pochettino can continue to maintain this positive streak and secure a place in European competitions, he will increase his chances of remaining at the helm of Chelsea and winning even more goodwill from fans during an otherwise tumultuous season.
