by Chelsea will enter the land of the giants on Sunday when they visit Goodison Park to face Everton and Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that size does matter in the Premier League.
Everton’s squad is, on average, the tallest in the league and is likely to have at least five outfield players who are 6ft or taller, although Chelsea are among the shortest and have conceded in all one of their last four games.
It should come as no surprise that while Everton have not conceded a single this season, Chelsea have conceded six league goals from leaders – the latest of which came from Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay in their win over London. side at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
McTominay would have scored twice with his header had it not been for a good save by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez and it is not difficult to see where Everton manager Sean Dyche, who was in the audience at Old Trafford, will try to take advantage at the weekend. .
Before McTominay, Brighton’s Joao Pedro, Newcastle United defender Jamaal Lascelles, Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji, Brentford’s Ethan Pinnock and West Ham United’s Nayef Aguerd have all kept clean sheets against Chelsea this season. Everton’s 6ft 2in striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be licking his lips.
Asked whether the difference in size between the two squads is a problem for Chelsea on Sunday, Pochettino replied: “It can be a problem, yes. We have to be more aggressive and try to avoid conceding chances like corners or wide tackles. We have to be smart in the way we work and try to stop them.
“In football, it’s the way you approach the game, the attitude and then being smart, trying to avoid the opportunity for the opponents to use their strengths.”
Chelsea chose not to try to sign 6ft, 1 in Declan Rice, who proved effective in both boxes with his head, in favor of paying £ 115 million to Moises Caicedo to partner Enzo Fernandez in midfield.
Caicedo and Fernandez are listed on Chelsea’s official website as measuring 5ft, 10in, while Conor Gallagher is only an inch taller, meaning Pochettino’s side often have an aerial advantage in midfield.
Arsenal’s signing of Rice was part of a conscious effort by head coach Mikel Arteta to increase the height of his squad and a tall and powerful spine is a feature of the Gunners, Manchester City and Liverpool squads.
Recognizing that this is important when signing players, Pochettino said: “Yes, of course, when you create a team and when you build a team, you have to pay attention to this in the Premier League. [the size of players]. It’s not that we’re going to defend better if we have taller players, but I think the balance is important.”
Only Sheffield United, Brentford and Luton Town have conceded more goals than Chelsea this season and Pochettino’s side have all conceded four goals against the leaders.
Identifying the problem is an easy part, but solving it is not so simple. Levi Colwill has won more aerial duels for Chelsea this season, but it was the England defender who beat McTominay to the high ball at Old Trafford.
Colwill’s aerial prowess and the challenging nature of Chelsea’s squad could explain why Pochettino, who started with a central back four in his defense against Brighton, often used him at left-back.
When Pedro scored with his stoppage-time header, Chelsea had Colwill, Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile and Thiago Silva all on the pitch, much to the frustration of Pochettino, who was furious at the nature of McTominay’s goal.
“We have to improve,” Pochettino said. “Given this way, maybe I’m not showing too much emotion, but I’m very upset. We have to work much better in these situations.
“It’s organization and desire. For me, we need to stop the crosses. Because after if it’s ‘Oh it’s not my problem because the opponent crossed’ then for the defensive line it’s so difficult to defend these situations.”
The numbers suggest Caicedo and Fernandez prefer to duck out
Chelsea cannot rely entirely on their defenders when trying to stop high balls into their box. Caicedo and Fernandez were standing somewhere around the edge of the penalty area when McTominay brought his goal forward in midweek.
Chelsea’s two £100 million-plus midfielders have won more than half of their aerial duels this season, but, together, they have competed for nine fewer high balls than Rice alone. When Rice puts his head down when he’s injured, the numbers would suggest that Caicedo and Fernandez prefer to retire, along with many other members of the Chelsea team.
Chelsea’s attacking trio of Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk and Cole Palmer, despite being 6ft, 2in, have offered next to nothing in the air, competing for 17 high balls together, while striker Nicolas Jackson managing a 38.2 percent success rate from his. 34 aerial duels.
Pochettino was unaware that Everton have yet to concede a league-leading goal this season, but said: “No, not yet? I hope we can [score with a header]. We are going to try.”
