Leicester vs Chelsea (1-2) Analysis: Maresca Adapts System, Palmer and Enzo Fernandez Switch

Enzo Maresca managed a 2-1 win over his former team, Leicester, in a game where he adapted his system into a way we have not seen before at Chelsea. Without Reece James and Malo Gusto, Maresca adapted his classic formation. The Blues overpowered Leicester with 63% possession and generated a 2,75 xG, more than double than the Foxes.

Goals from Nicolas Jackson and Enzo Fernandez were enough to secure the three points, despite a late penalty from Jordan Ayew briefly threatening to relaunch the game. The visitors set the tone early, dominating possession and pinning Leicester deep in their own half. Jackson’s opening goal is proof of the forward becoming more clinical in his finishing, as he kept his cool while Wout Faes struggled for control. Fernandez, who was instrumental throughout, added the second with a header from close range.

Leicester struggled to mount a credible response. Their inability to register a shot on target from open play until late in the game underscored the passive nature of their performance. Ayew’s penalty, awarded after a VAR review for a foul by Romeo Lavia, was a rare bright spot on an otherwise uninspired afternoon for the hosts.

Back Three Line and Lone Pivot

So far, we mainly saw three variations in Enzo Maresca’s build-up. First, when he relied on Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo as a double pivot, Enzo Fernandez would push up in to the left half space, while Malo Gusto inverted in line with Caicedo. Then, when Maresca switched to the Caicedo-Lavia pair, we saw the two holding midfielders keeping their position while Malo Gusto inverted higher up, in line with Cole Palmer.

Now playing with only one natural fullback, Marc Cucurella, Maresca chose a unique system. With three centre-backs, he naturally opted for a back-three with Fofana, Colwill and Badiashile, while Marc Cucurella would get high and maintain the width. As Cucurella did not invert, Moises Caicedo would remain as a single pivot. So this leaves Chelsea with a 3-1-6 formation in possession.

Occupying and Attacking the Half-Spaces

With Marc Cucrella maintaining width on the left wing, Joao Felix would occupy the left half space. On the opposite side, we would have Noni Madueke, Chelsea’s winger holding the width, while Enzo Fernandez would sit in the half space and attack it. Chelsea adopted a balanced attacking approach, spreading their attacks on all three sides of the pitch, slightly favouring the middle.

Most of their dangerous chances came from the combinations out wide, with one player cutting inside the box and then crossing it back. Launching one player behind the defensive line on the wing, penetrating the box and then cutting it back was the theme of Chelsea’s attacks in the first half. Looking at Chelsea’s shots, the majority came from wide areas, and were followed by a cross or cutback.

Enzo Fernandez Switches with Cole Palmer

Many times during build-up, we saw Enzo Fernandez occupying the right half-space. The interesting part from this set-up was Cole Palmer dropping deep, in line with Moises Caicedo during the build-up play. Looking at Cole Palmer’s pass map, we see an important number of passes came from midfield. Palmer was used as a deep-lying playmaker, responsible for line-breaking passes. Most of his passes were not short, or meaningless. He also had contributions in a more advanced position, obvious from the passes taken on the edge of the box.

Enzo Fernandez has a big cluster of passes right in the half-space. We see that they both operated in the same area. But Enzo Fernandez was the one engaging in combination in the right wing, together with Noni Madueke. The link between the two was strong, and many chances came from Enzo Fernandez cutting inside the box, to receive the ball from Madueke and then cutback for a shot.

In this game, Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer operated together and alternated between dropping to collect the ball and being an attacking threat. We saw much more of Enzo Fernandez’s contribution to Chelsea’s offensive capabilities, as he had more freedom to penetrate the box. The problem was that Chelsea was left exposed in midfield and Leicester nearly took advantage of that.

McAteer had a huge chance in the first half, when Leicester nearly scored. As they broke through Chelsea’s advanced pressing, Enzo Fernandez being higher, then Marc Cucurella filled in that central position to cover the midfield. Yet this left McAteer free on the right wing. After his first touch, he took a shot, but unfortunately for the foxes it was wide.

Conclusions

Chelsea’s adaptation got them through Leicester City and won them three points to keep them in the top spots of the Premier League. Enzo Fernandez finally had a good Premier League game and his positioning helped him score a goal and assist Nicolas Jackson. However, it left Chelsea in a bit of a tough spot in midfield. Although Moises Caicedo played as a lone pivot, Leicester was not a team that could fully take advantage of Chelsea’s setup. Another team might, and would.

But so far, so good for the Blues, as they maintain the third spot in the Premier League standings, while Leicester City has entered crisis mode and is now looking for another head coach.