by There was a time when Chelsea were one of the most successful teams in the Premier League. They paid attention to height and could rely on tall players such as John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Didier Drogba, Gary Cahill and Michael Ballack to provide aerial dominance at both ends of the pitch.
No more. If size matters, nobody seems to have told Chelsea. They have conceded from leaders in the last four games and Mauricio Pochettino is worried about his team’s lack of status. It could be a problem when Chelsea travel to Goodison Park on Sunday to face Everton, who have the highest squad in the top flight.
“We need to be more aggressive,” Pochettino said on Friday. “When you create a team, you have to pay attention to this in the Premier League [height]. Of course it’s not that we will defend better if we have taller players, but I think the balance is important.”
The comparison to be made with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City is obvious. They have solid spines. Arsenal centre-backs William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães are over 6ft tall and Mikel Arteta’s starting XI is usually packed with height. Declan Rice, the £105m midfielder, is 6ft 1in. Fullbacks Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are tall. Kai Havertz, the attacking midfielder, is 6ft 2in.
Arteta has clearly focused on strengthening Arsenal’s midfield. Pep Guardiola, too, has not packed his City team with small midfielders. The three-time winners have brawn and beauty. The six underpinnings in his best XI include centre-backs John Stones and Rúben Dias, Rodri in defensive midfield and Erling Haaland up front.
Every successful side needs a little elevation. It is difficult for Liverpool’s main strikers, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté and Joël Matip to beat injuries in the air. In midfield, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch are over 6ft. Darwin Núñez, the striker, is 6ft 2in. The mind goes back to the days when Chelsea could rely on Drogba, their powerhouse striker, to help with pieces of defense.
Now, however, Chelsea are being bullied. And if you go through Pochettino’s best XI, you will find an alarming lack of depth among the players. Reece James, the right back, is 5ft 10in. Thiago Silva, who always starts in central defence, is 5ft 11in. Midfielders Enzo Fernández, Conor Gallagher and Moisés Caicedo are all under 6 feet tall and can be tackled in the air. Raheem Sterling is 5ft 7in. And assuming 5ft 10in Christopher Nkunku returns to fitness he replaces 6ft 2in Nicolas Jackson up front, which leaves 6ft 2in Levi Colwill at left back, 6ft 3in Axel Disasi in central defense and 6ft 2in Cole Palmer on the right wing.
Of course, this is not an exact science as Chelsea have recently scored in headers against City and Brighton, while Arsenal conceded twice in the air against Luton on Tuesday. Chelsea to be thinking about the issue. Although they may need to bring in more attention, the data shows that they have won many first contacts at set pieces.
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However, the weakness was evident when the unchallenged Nayef Aguerd headed in James Ward-Prowse’s corner during West Ham’s win over Chelsea in August. As a former midfielder, Pochettino must be angry. In October Chelsea conceded an equalizer against Arsenal when Bukayo Saka was allowed to cross for Leandro Trossard to slot home. Ethan Pinnock then rose at the far post to head in a deep cross in Brentford’s win at Stamford Bridge a week later.
It was too easy. In Chelsea’s last four games they conceded City’s Manuel Akanji, Newcastle’s Jamal Lascelles, Brighton’s João Pedro and Manchester United’s Scott McTominay. Akanji and Lascelles were unmarked in the middle, and McTominay overpowered Colwill before meeting Alejandro Garnacho’s cross during United’s win over Chelsea on Wednesday.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Pochettino, who acknowledged collective failures. “During the last week we have been working on this type of situation. I think there are two important things for you to know. We didn’t push the crossing. Then with the quality of the Premier League we all have, if the ball is there it’s hard to stop.
“We have to improve. Surrendering this way, maybe I’m not showing too much emotion, but I’m very upset. We have to work much better in these situations.”
Pochettino is looking for a greater work rate from his wide players. “It’s organization and desire,” he said. “For me, we have to stop the crosses. Because after if it is: ‘Oh, my problem is not because the opponent crossed’ then for the defensive line it is so difficult to defend such situations.”
Everton, who have not conceded a header this season, will be preparing the aerial bar. Sean Dyche was at Old Trafford to see Chelsea lose to United. He will be telling James Tarkowski, Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin to be ready to attack those set pieces.
