Syed Shaiban
On Sunday, football’s primary colours collide again as Stamford Bridge braces itself to host a familiar foe but leading them with be one of it’s most beloved managers in the name of Jose Mourinho. Manchester United travel to the Bridge where Jose built himself a fortress with 79 wins in 106 games and lost only 5.
Statistics matter very less in big games like these where tactics do all the talking but odds and history are stacked against the red devils who have lost 10 games away at the Bridge to Chelsea more than any other team anywhere else away and since 2015, they’ve only won, one out of 8 in the capital of England which is a poor record. However, statistics stand against Chelsea as well because the blues have only won 8 out of 23 home games in recent times so it’s hard to say that United would not get anything out of the game. Jose’s men come to the capital after ensuring a very clinical win against Fenerbahce in Europe while on the other hand, the Blues have had a full week of training under Antonio Conte.
Here are two reasons why Manchester United should be wary off Chelsea’s new found formation that is the 3-4-3 :-
1) The potential domination of the four-man midfield :-
Antonio Conte’s system of 3-4-3 got it’s approval in the Hull City game even though it was earlier witnessed in the London derby against Arsenal. The two players benefitting immensely from this formation are Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses, featuring as wingbacks with N’golo Kante and Nemanja Matic in central midfield. 455 passes were completed that day at Yorkshire against Hull City and the significant positive for the Blues was the complete domination by the 4 man midfield both in terms of passing and possession. They retained over 54% possession approximately and had 16 shots. While Victor Moses has posed as an attacking threat in both the games against Hull and Leicester, Marcos Alonso, on the other hand, went with his work quite tidily and effectively but the major eye-catching prospect in the centre was of course N’Golo Kante.
Against his former club Leicester City, Kante made 5 interceptions and 4 successful tackles and also displayed his attacking qualities. While he could have got a goal himself, he played a crucial part in Chelsea’s third goal by delivering the ball to Chalobah who assisted Moses sublimely. Nemanja Matic though has had a topsy-turvy beginning to this campaign. While he’s often been criticized for lack of speed and ineffectiveness in starting a counter, he combines his strength and ball retaining ability brilliantly to ensure the possession. Against Leicester he probably had his best game of the season so far and with 3-4-3 it’s like more of a renaissance for the Chelsea players and United will undoubtedly have a tough time neutralizing this midfield.
2) The dangerous Chelsea attack :-
Conte has indeed improved Chelsea’s attack with a familiar system involving the back three and this will be the biggest imminent threat to Manchester United. Eden Hazard’s rising form matched with Diego Costa’s magnificent goal run, United have a tough task. Chaos was initially there in the 4 at the back system where Costa was isolated and Willian as well as Hazard had to hugely rely upon individual quality and the counters weren’t even happening from Central Midfield but a 4 men midfield now gives Chelsea the extra edge in the attacking sector.
Hazard’s impressive display against Leicester where he mostly played centrally caused all sorts of problems for the foxes. Less defensive duties and more attacking freedom has helped Hazard individually but there’s another player who none of us can ignore. Diego Costa , when he gets going, he is one sensational striker to deal with. On a magical run since the start, the Spaniard has scored 7 goals in 8 games with an impressive shot accuracy of 70%. In terms of physical ability too, Eric Bailly and Chris Smalling have to be at the top of their game otherwise the match will already be doomed against the ever so threatening Chelsea front 3.
