Chelsea beat Cypriot side Pafos 1-0 at Stamford Bridge courtesy of Mosises Caicedo, who scored the only goal of the match in the 78th minute.
The Blues were unable to break the visitors' wall for large periods of the game. The home side did not play with enough tempo, urgency or creativity in order to constantly put Albert Celades’s side under the cosh. The Blues have had difficulties breaking down a low block for several years, including when Enzo Maresca was at the helm.
Just like the previous managers experienced, Liam Rosenior saw his side continue to have major difficulties against a low block . Coming into the match, Chelsea were expected to blow the visitors out of the water. However, Pafos gave the London giants a run for their money.
Despite not being anywhere near their best, the Blues just about got over the line. This win puts Rosenior’s side back into the top 8 of the Champions League table.
The Blues must now beat Antonio Conte’s Napoli away from home next week in order to most likely finish inside of the top eight, during their final game during the league phase.
Chelsea’s tempo and intensity are supremely low against sides who sit in a low block
Despite being on the front foot, the Blues found it was a tall task to break down Pafos. In the first half, Chelsea had 11 shots with 3 being on target. However, they didn’t put the Pafos goalkeeper Jay Gorter under heavy pressure.
Throughout the game, the Blues were struggling to break the lines and were forced to pass sideways and backwards regularly. This allowed Pafos to keep their defensive shape, be compact defensively and get enough players back in their penalty area in order to clear crosses that came in their own box.
When the Blues picked up their tempo, they looked more dangerous, but it was very few and far between.
One solution to rectify this issue is to take more risks and look to complete passes in tight windows. Rosenior’s side was very predictable and easy to defend against because they kept putting the same type of crosses into the box and didn’t play enough quick passes in order to drag the opposing players out of position.
Another solution to break down low blocks is to take more shots from outside the penalty area. This can lead to the goalkeeper misjudging the ball, or the ball can fall to an attacking player for an easy tap-in.
Breaking down low blocks is one of the Blues' biggest weaknesses, and as a result, they have dropped points throughout the season. This is a flaw that Rosenior and his staff need to correct.
Liam Delap was isolated up front and struggled to get involved in the game
The former Ipswich striker only touched the ball 12 times, including just once inside the visitors' penalty area during 70 minutes.
The English striker did not get himself about more often, and his movement inside the box was underwhelming. Although he is not to blame for not getting enough service, the 22-year-old was not lively inside the penalty area.
There were occasions where he could have got on the end of some crosses, but being static prevented him from testing Gorter. The pressure on the striker to start turning a corner is increasing as he has only scored 2 goals in 18 matches in all competitions.
The striker has been unfortunate with injuries during his first season at Chelsea. However, he has been unable to hit the ground running thus far in the matches that he has played. It is important for Delap to be more lively in the box and to also be more clinical in front of the goal. There have been matches where his teammates have been unable to create chances for him, like in this one, for example.
However, it is also the striker’s responsibility to get himself more involved and grab matches by the scruff of the neck if he wants to cement his place in the starting eleven ahead of Joao Pedro.
Moises Caicedo continues to show why he is irreplaceable in this Chelsea side
Although this was a poor performance from the Blues, the one silver lining was Caicedo’s performance. The midfielder stopped some Pafos counterattacks and won the majority of his 50-50 duels. He also had the third most touches, with 105 and was the one Chelsea player who looked in full control.
Caicedo also had 4 shots, with all of them being on target, scored the winning goal and created three chances. The Ecuadorian continues to impress and show why he is a really important player in this Chelsea team.
Last year, the 24-year-old deservedly won Chelsea’s player of the season award, and he has kept that brilliant form up during this campaign. The midfielder is a master at so many different attributes, such as tackling, breaking the lines, switching the play and more.
During the Blues' 3-2 loss to Arsenal at home in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final, it was crystal clear to see that not having Caicedo in the middle of the park was a huge miss.
During that match, Chelsea were unable to fill that void. Caicedo is the Blues’ best midfielder by some distance, and the former Brighton player must play as many games as possible if Chelsea want to reach their targets this season.
There have been multiple times during Chelsea’s first seven Champions League matches, where it seemed like their objective of finishing in the top 8 was totally out of reach, especially after they were not able to beat both Qarabag and Atalanta.
In fact, after the Blues lost to the Italian side in matchweek six, they were 13th in the table coming into this game. Finishing in the top eight was out of their hands, and they needed teams above them to drop points.
However, after teams like Atletico Madrid, Manchester City, Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund and Inter dropped points in their respective matches, the Blues now find themselves 8th in the table.
Although Chelsea’s chances of finishing in the top eight have increased after this midweek’s results, the challenge for Rosenior’s side is to beat a strong Napoli team away from home next week.
Despite the current Serie A Champions sitting in 25th place in the Champions League table, they still have a chance of making the play-off’s. The former Chelsea manager, Antonio Conte, hasn’t had a magnificent record in Europe’s biggest competition of all.
However, despite this, he is a lot more experienced than Liam Rosenior, and he has quality players that can make the difference, such as Scott McTominay.
This will be a huge test for this young Chelsea side because it is a tall task for any team to beat Napoli at Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, especially when taking into account that Conte’s side is fighting for their life in this competition.
Picking up only one point means that the Blues will more than likely not finish in the top 8. This is because only one of Inter, Barcelona, Sporting, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta or Inter would need to win for the Blues to finish 9th or lower in the table.
As a result, this means that if they want to avoid playing two extra games in this competition, then they must beat Napoli away from home, which is easier said than done. If this were to happen, then it would most likely guarantee the Blues a place in the top 8 of the Champions League table.