Can Chelsea Play at Their Maximum with Cesc Fabregas in the 'No. 10 Role?'
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Playing out a 1-1 draw in the International Champions Cup, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain needed penalties to settle their third meeting during the last calendar year—this time at neutral confines (albeit with a heavy Blue contingent) in the United States.
Winning the penalty shootout 6-5, the Blues were only undone by their first-half nightmare.
The opening 45 minutes of the ICC match were completely controlled by the French side. Laurent Blanc's men were the more aggressive, with 10 shots on goal, and the all-important opener from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. While the Parisians deserve more credit than a simple "Chelsea played poorly," sometimes the truth is unflattering.
"Jose Mourinho says PSG are a good team with good players who started training earlier and are one step ahead in pre-season. #CFCTour
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 26, 2015"
Many of the English club's early issues stemmed from sluggish build-up play. Mourinho started with one of his more defensive starting XIs. The original defence of Asmir Begovic, Cesar Azpilicueta, John Terry, Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic were guarded by bulwark defensive midfielders Nemanja Matic and John Obi Mikel.
Mourinho's men suffered; a non-existent pressing game and plodding midfield led to Parisian dominance. Down just 1-0 at halftime to a Zlatan Ibrahimovic goal, the Londoners were lucky not to be down by three or four.
Chelsea's offensive engine for the past 12 months has been Cesc Fabregas. Slotted alongside Matic in the double pivot, the Spanish maestro was able to conduct play and moderate tempo as he saw fit.
Possessing the vision, technical ability and mental nous to dictate for 90 minutes from a deeper role, the 28-year-old midfielder is always interesting to watch advanced.
When Mikel and Matic play together, the game's rhythm stalls. Whether done on purpose or simply as a by-product of the players' capabilities and attributes, Chelsea tend to crawl rather than run without Fabregas in holding midfield.
This begs the question: Are the Blues better off with their World Cup-winning midfielder avoiding the central-attacking midfield role?
In pre-season, there is need to experiment and test formations that could arise during the season, hence Fabregas playing further forward vs. PSG is not surprising, and frankly to be expected. But Mourinho knows his team's first-half performance was unacceptable for defending Premier League champions.
Fabregas was the producer for Victor Moses' 1-1 equaliser in the 65th minute. Though his quality could shine through from Jupiter, what is best for Chelsea—on a long-term basis—seems a different approach.
Seeing how his side dealt with the double pivot of Mikel and Matic, Mourinho learned his first lesson spawning from this ICC match: Fabregas is more valuable to Chelsea playing in the double pivot.
Even when tasked with playing behind the center-forward, the former Barcelona man came into the Blues' defending third and attempted to quarterback the Blues.
Oscar, by the same token, gives the west Londoners more energy and hustle in attacking areas. The Brazilian's pressing and motivation, as compared to Fabregas', keeps opponents kicking long balls, which are invariably captured by Chelsea's massive back four.
What Mourinho would lose in defensive areas, he would gain in offensive thrust.
After just two pre-season matches, Chelsea are finding their legs, using all of their options (Radamel Falcao, Willian and Juan Cuadrado were played 20 minutes vs. PSG after Copa America duties) and perfecting tactics which saw them win the league by eight points over Manchester City in 2014/15.
The chief tactic in Mourinho's last domestic crown was giving his best playmaker the stage to showcase his talent. Fabregas' role in this Blues' squad is keeping the players around him happy, facilitating for others and steering a smooth Chelsea ship.
The best place for him to complete all three missions is not in the "No. 10," but retreated deeper.
*Stats via WhoScored.com; transfer fees via Soccerbase where not noted.
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