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“Chelsea are a defensive team”: the 6 stats that make Mauricio Pochettino lie

When citing examples, it is best to be confident. And Mauricio Pochettino’s interview with L’Equipe last Friday proved it again in great width. Asked about his paw at PSG since his arrival, the Argentine technician tried to justify the too great exposure of his defense to the opposing gusts, unlike Manchester City or Chelsea.

Response from the PSG coach: “Chelsea are a defensive team, playing the transition and the counter“. A vision that falls within the cliché in which Thomas Tuchel’s troop has not ceased to be locked up since the beginning of the year. In question, the enormous defensive performance of the Blues, better defense of the European Top 5 teams (4 goals But, ahead, the Londoners have little to envy the tenors of the continent – proof in 6 stats.

39

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This is obviously the first data to highlight. With 39 goals scored in 19 matches, the Blues have turned over two goals per game since the start of the season. An average that sticks to that of most European leaders. In the league, Chelsea is also the second best attack in the Premier League (30), behind the fireworks of Liverpool (35). To resume the comparison of Mauricio Pochettino, the figures of PSG are almost similar (40 goals in 18 matches).

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1

Defensive team, which plays the transition and the block“, said Pochettino on Friday. Statistically, difficult to be more false. Of the 39 goals scored by the Blues this season, only one has been scored on” counterattack “according to the count of WhoScored. That Chelsea is enjoying the transition thanks to in the profiles of his wings-backs is a proven fact, but facing lower boulders, Tuchel’s men also excel.

Mason Mount

Credit: Getty Images

71,1 %

To reinforce this idea, Chelsea is a machine to keep the ball. Far from the PSG of its beginnings, which transformed matches into boxing fights, Thomas Tuchel has managed to make the Blues a patient team that knows how to bide its time. In C1 this season, no one deprives the opponent as many balls as Chelsea, ahead of Liverpool (67.3%), Ajax (62.5%) and Bayern Munich (61%).

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17,3

Having the ball is one thing, doing something with it is another. In this area, it is clear that N’Golo Kanté’s teammates often follow their ideas to the end. Per match, in the Champions League, the winners of the last edition hit 17.3 times on goal, the sixth best total so far, far behind Bayern’s total however (21 strikes / match). For comparison, PSG have the 27th total (only 8.5 strikes / match) but devilishly efficient when converting their attempts.

49,8m

Like the average distance at which the Blues start their offensive streak. This is the highest average in this area in C1 this season. In other words, Chelsea started their offensives from very high, in particular thanks to a very effective pressing allowing Tuchel’s men to be also those who recover the most in the opposing 40m (65 balls recovered). When the pressing is done while moving forward, it can hurt.

14

Defenders at heart but scorers on occasion: with the Blues, the danger comes from everywhere but especially from behind one would be tempted to say. 14 goals this season have been the work of professional defenders and Reece James (4 goals) is the club’s top scorer alongside Romelu Lukaku and Kai Havertz. So Chelsea are not a defensive team but perhaps simply a team of excellent defenders, able to easily exceed their functions.

Sources : Opta, Whoscored, FBREF

Reece James et Ben Chilwell

Credit: Getty Images

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