Analysis: Chelsea

Chelsea set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic as the three central midfielders in a one-two triangle with Jorginho at the base. Willian and Pedro took on the role as the wide attackers, while Eden Hazard operated as the centre forward with deep-lying tendencies.

Maurizio Sarri’s players looked to build from the back, encouraging the centre-backs and Jorginho to play short passes before moving the ball wide. Here, they would try to overload Manchester City by using the full-back, near-side centre-back, Jorginho, near-side central midfielder and wide attacker to outnumber their opponents and bypass the midfield.

Chelsea enjoyed success on their right-hand side using this strategy, where they would regularly create a two-on-one situation for Kante and Pedro against Fabian Delph. Delph would travel a long distance from his defensive line to track Pedro; recognising this, Kante would then move to an advanced position beyond to create the two-on-one.

Similarly, Willian and Pedro would often be positioned on the touchline with the ball played into their feet – this would trigger the underlapping runs of Kante or Kovacic, into the space vacated by the full-back who had moved to press the wide attackers. They also looked to use switches of play to disorganise the City structure, particularly as they would have to commit players to one side to deal with the overload. It was a double switch of play that led to the hosts’ opening goal, eventually struck home by Kante, moments before half-time.

Out of possession, Chelsea utilised two strategies. When the ball was with City goalkeeper Ederson or deep with the centre-backs, they would operate in a man-oriented high press. Crucially, the centre-backs would be pressed by Kovacic or Kante, depending on what side the ball was, while Hazard screened the ball into Fernandinho. Willian and Pedro would then tuck in to screen the balls into Bernardo Silva and David Silva, while also being in a position to press full-backs Delph and Kyle Walker, should they receive possession from the centre-backs.

They would try to encourage City to play out wide and would then defend the wide areas with their wide attacker, nearest central midfielder and full-back. Jorginho would also offer support, making it very difficult for the visitors to exploit the wide areas they were being shown.

The other strategy was a 4-5-1 mid-block, where Pedro and Willian would tuck in with Kante, Kovacic and Jorginho to form a midfield line of five. This unit would remain very compact centrally, restricting the supply into playmakers Bernardo Silva and David Silva, and forwards Leroy Sane (later Gabriel Jesus), Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling.