Why Chelsea 'revive'?

(Baonghean.vn) - A 2-0 victory at Southampton's St Mary's Stadium helped Chelsea extend their winning streak in the Premier League to 4 matches. With 22 points, Coach Conte and his team are in 4th place and only 1 point behind the top 3 teams. What makes the team at Stamford Bridge rise so strongly?

Revolution in tactics

It is no exaggeration to say that the 3-4-3 formation is the fundamental reason for The Blues’ recent “revival”. After painful defeats against Liverpool and Arsenal, Coach Conte boldly made a tactical revolution at Stamford Bridge.

Coach Antonio Conte. Photo internet.

In fact, the formation with 3 central defenders is the forte of the Italian strategist. During his time at Juventus and the "blue shirt" team, Conte always used a defensive system with 3 central defenders. But that does not mean that the former Juventus coach mechanically imposed what he had at his home teams on Chelsea.

The reason it is called “a tactical revolution” is because, when he was leading Juventus and the Italian national team, coach Antonio Conte often used the “secret” 3-5-2 formation. Now, at Stamford Bridge, he uses the 3-4-3 formation. Of course, each formation has similarities and differences. It is impossible to judge which one is better than the other, but it also has to be suitable for specific conditions, in this case, personnel.

Therefore, although they are both 3-center-back formations, Chelsea's way of operating is not a version of Juventus or the Italian national team. That shows that, in his philosophy, coach Antonio Conte has made a revolution based on the conditions that Chelsea currently has.

In the history of English football, no coach has been successful with a 3-center-back formation. Unlike Italy, Spain, Germany... football cultures that always emphasize tactical factors, football in the "foggy country" is heavily conservative and lacks innovation.

For a long time, football teams here have always assumed that the playing lineup must be 4 players defending in front of the goal (a pair of central defenders and 2 full-backs). Therefore, when having to play with new formations, English teams often fail because of their poor adaptability. That makes coaches very hesitant, if not impossible, to apply the 3-center-back formation in England. The fact that a person with a big ego like Van Gaal had to accept giving up the 3-center-back formation at MU after only the first matches in the 2014-2015 season is understandable enough.

Chelsea have never played with this formation in recent years. Therefore, Conte's use of the 3-4-3 formation is truly a revolution at Stamford Bridge. In the last 4 matches in the Premier League, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has not had to pick the ball out of the net once. Meanwhile, Chelsea's attacking players have scored 11 goals, equivalent to an efficiency of 2.75 goals/match. A team with a solid defense and a sharp attack, it is obvious that they will achieve impressive results.

Hazard's revival

“Without flour, there is no glue”, Chelsea under coach Conte is showing excellent performance thanks in no small part to the whole team. In that team, the name Hazard is considered the key to help The Blue open the door to success. The opening goal against goalkeeper Fraser Forster was the 3rd consecutive match that the Belgian striker scored for Chelsea in the Premier League this year.

Photo Internet.

It is not until now that people talk about Hazard's revival. Because since the beginning of the season, the player wearing the number 10 shirt has always shown his inherent ability in both Chelsea and the national team. It seems that the disastrous season last year is no longer haunting Hazard, where he was one of Chelsea's worst players. Hazard's poor form is partly the reason why The Blues declined and pushed Mourinho out of Stamford Bridge.

Up to now, after 10 rounds, Hazard has scored 5 goals (an efficiency of 0.5 goals/match). Remember, in the Premier League 2014-2015, when Chelsea won the championship, and the former Lille player won the title of "Best Player of the Premier League", he only scored 13 goals (an efficiency of about 0.35 goals/match). Comparing those numbers shows that Hazard's current form is equivalent, even better than the 2014-2015 season.

It is too early to say whether Chelsea will win the 2016-2017 Premier League title or not. However, with the performance of the Stamford Bridge team, it is clear that Conte and his team will be one of the strongest candidates this season.

Le Thanh Hung