Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
A graphic showing Jordan Henderson's match statistics (goals, assists, key passes and pass completion rate) against for Chelsea FC against Bournemouth. Image shows Jordan Henderson celebrating.
Credit: Photo by Chris Lee – Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images
Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images
Split image - N'Golo Kante of Chelsea and Pep Chavarria of Chelsea
Split image - N'Golo Kante of Chelsea and Pep Chavarria of Chelsea
Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images
Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images
Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images
Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images
However, the 44-year-old used a back three at Bayer Leverkusen and achieved a lot of success by doing so. So far, he has had mixed results with his 3-4-2-1 system at Chelsea, and before the international break, some fans were urging him to revert to a back four.
Without knowing, these Chelsea fans actually got their wish on Saturday as Alonso’s men thrashed Bournemouth 5-1.
Xabi Alonso’s 3-4-2-1 formation can be fluid
While Chelsea lined up in a 3-4-2-1 shape on paper and defended in a back five, their set-up over the weekend was very fluid. And that has not always been the case.
Looking at their average positions map on Sofascore, you can see that Chelsea practically attacked with a front four, with Pedro Neto joining Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and Morgan Rogers in the frontline. It worked, as the Blues were absolutely relentless going forward.
At the back, as Neto pushed up, Josh Acheampong shuffled across to the right-back position, leaving Chelsea in a back four. In the middle, Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson maintained their starting roles.
At this point, Chelsea’s formation looked more like a 4-2-4 than a 3-4-2-1, showing that Alonso’s set-up can be flexible. It is in stark contrast to what we saw in Chelsea’s first game of the season against Fulham.
Chelsea’s average positions map versus Fulham shows everyone basically stuck to their positions, which is quite rare in this era of positional play. Whatever the case, it worked that night, but if Chelsea’s last outing is anything to go by, Alonso is not going to be rigid.
Alonso has already stated that he will be flexible, and we have now seen signs of that.