Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has admitted that he and his team must learn and improve on how to beat low block defence setups.
This is something that we see a lot of in today’s game. When one team has much more quality than the other and a team that they have spent a lot less on than the opposition they are facing, who have often spent billions, they will setup with a stubborn low block defence, making it very hard to break them down.
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You can’t blame them for this either. When you are up against Chelsea, a team who have spent billions to assemble their latest squad, up against a team who have barely spent even close to that, there is going to be a clear difference in quality on the pitch. So how else do you have a chance of beating them than playing defensively and waiting for counter attacks?
Maresca has admitted that he has been finding this difficult at Chelsea, especially when teams like Sunderland all of a sudden play a back 5 against them when they haven’t played it all season.
Maresca on playing against low blocks
Reporter Bobby Vincent asked Enzo Maresca in yesterday’s press conference about adapting to play against a back five and how it impacts Chelsea’s preparations. Here is the lengthy answer he gave:
“This is a very good question. When we have some difficulties, we like to analyse. So in these days, we are trying to analyse all last season’s games against teams that they sit back to see results, to see the game, how we can do better, how we can improve. Because we are always looking to improve.
“And probably, unless a deep switch where we drop points, all the rest [of the] teams, Leicester, Wolves, West Ham, Everton, Brentford, we won both games or we won one and we drew the other one. For sure, it’s something that we need to do better.
“The thing that we need to improve and we need to learn, and it’s something that I’m saying to the players every day, is now that teams, probably because of what we achieved last season, teams have changed against us. Sunderland, nine games in the Premier League, they never played with a back five from the start. Never.
“They played nine games, I watched all the nine games from Sunderland before our game. Never. They finished with a back five, they were winning 1-0, so to defend the last 10 minutes, they had a back five. But from the start, never.
“So we prepared a Sunderland game against a back four. So before the game, in the changing room, before the players go out for a warm-up, I need to tell the players, ‘Guys, all the Sunderland preparation, do like this, tac-tac-tac-tac, and put in the rubbish.’
“That’s why it’s so difficult. The plan for today, now, is this. In 10 minutes, we need to change the plan. So it’s different when we know that team, they are [always playing with a] back five, and we prepare with back five. And it’s completely different when a team is back four every time.
“So just to tell you one thing, that is a nice thing: Four weeks ago, I was in London for the LMA award. I was with Ange [Postecoglou], before he took the job with Forest. We were speaking, and I said, ‘Ange, I’ve never seen your team play back five, apart from the last 10 minutes of the Europa League final against United.’
“He started to laugh, and he said, ‘I hate to play back five, but because it was the last 10 minutes, and we need to win the title. I said, OK, I don’t care, we play back five.’
“We played Forest, it was a back five. And I prepared the game against a back four. So in the warm-up [they are setting up with a back five], guys, all the plan, rubbish, back five. This is difficult for the players. It’s not when you know that you play against a team, that they always play a back five. OK, we prepare all week, or two, three days, for how we can win the game. And we know how to win the game.
“The problem is when you face a team, that they are back four, arrive here, back five, sit back. It’s more complicated. This is the only difference.”
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