Chelsea are having an up-and-down season, currently sitting in fourth place and eight points behind league leaders Arsenal.
The Blues have dealt with injuries and bad results, but one of the main bright spots this season has been Enzo Fernández.
With Cole Palmer missing most of the season due to injury, Fernández has been thrust into more of an attacking role.
He’s typically played as more of a hybrid eight who can play as a 10, but, in reality, is the all-around, do-it-all midfielder that Chelsea relies on week in and week out.
Fernández came to Stamford Bridge with a really big price tag of €121m from Benfica in January of 2023, but is now a clear leader in the team.
In this Enzo Fernández scout report, we will take a look at Enzo Fernándezs role in build-up for Chelsea, his role in the final third, how his role changes when Cole Palmer is in or out of the team, and some of the data behind his success this season.
Enzo Fernández In Build-Up
Before we talk about Fernández’s role for Chelsea in the build-up, we have to talk about the different structures that Enzo Maresca has used.
Throughout last season, Marseca stuck to a very rigid 3-2-5 system, where Chelsea would try to create a five-man overload in the middle of the pitch to play through opponents.
It wasn’t really successful, and most teams simply sat in a low block against the Blues, and they really struggled to break teams down.
This season, Maresca has favoured a more 3-1-6 build-up to overload the last line of defence and help Chelsea be more effective at breaking down low blocks.
Chelsea 3 1 6
This is where Fernández comes in and why he’s so important to Chelsea’s build-up.
No matter if he is playing as a number 10 or a number eight, Fernández will always drop deep to help aid in the build-up.
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