Chelsea improved hugely in attack in the second half of last night’s win over Wolves to take the game 3-0, but what stayed consistent all game were their defensive efforts.
Chelsea’s rock solid back line give the team a platform at last
Chelsea vs. Wolves shot map.
According to FotMob, the Blues kept Wolves to just 0.17 xG with a really solid performance at the back, limiting the opposition to shots from miles out, as you can see in the shot map above.
You can see a rundown of their top defensive stats in the table here:
It’s so clear now that Trevoh Chalobah and Wesley Fofana are our best centre back pair while Levi Colwill and (to a lesser extent) Benoit Badiashile are out. This looks like it’s always been the plan, it’s just injuries and suspensions which have disrupted it.
They looked really solid, building on an equally good showing against Spurs last week. They’ve got a bit of everything between them, and Josh Acheampong waiting in the wings with the potential to be better than either of them.
Let’s hope the pair can keep up this good form and keep playing together week after week following this international break. That partnership could be season changing in its importance.
In other news…
Alejandro Garnacho was another Blue who did really well, and he was praised by his manager Enzo Maresca at full time. He’s got a huge role to play this season, and we’re finally now starting to see the best of him it seems.
Liam Delap got a start in this game but struggled, especially in the first half. After the game, Maresca defended his striker, explaining how difficult the circumstances were.
