Everton boss Moyes gave an interesting verdict on Chelsea's double-edged football under Xabi Alonso.
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Everton manager David Moyes believes Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea have been playing double-edged “expansive” football that could backfire at times.
There have been more goals (28) in Chelsea’s games than any other team's in the Premier League this season.
Chelsea scored 15 goals in the first six games, the joint-third-highest in the league, but they have also conceded 13 goals in this period, the joint-highest, and are still without a league clean sheet.
In contrast, Everton, who are level on points (10) with Chelsea, have only conceded five goals, but scored just eight.
Moyes argued that as much as Chelsea’s end-to-end football has resulted in an outstanding attacking record, it could also hurt them.
“I think their attacking line is incredibly exciting-looking, and I think it’s proved that in different games,” the Everton boss said in his press conference on Friday when asked about Chelsea.
“I also think that they’ve got some superb defenders as well.
“But I think they are playing quite an expansive game, which on its day could lead to goals and another day could lead to defeats.
“Look, I think every time you play Chelsea, anytime I’ve played Chelsea, it’s always been a good game. The difficulty of trying to beat them was always tough.”
Alonso wants less "entertaining" Chelsea wins, too
There is nothing necessarily wrong with the way Chelsea heavily rely on their attacking output to outscore their opponents. In fact, these types of games often draw more eyes and excite the supporters more.
However, while some Chelsea fans might take this as a dig, Moyes still made a very fair point. It can be hard to win consistently playing the way Chelsea have this season.
Alonso himself alluded to this on several occasions.
After the 6-3 win over Leeds United in the Carabao Cup in early September, the Chelsea manager said: “We want to have better balance, to be more solid, to be able to win in a boring game as well, if that happens.”
Just a few days later, after the 2-2 draw with Hull City, Alonso reiterated the message.
“Yeah, I thought (the game) was maybe entertaining, but I hope one day you will say it’s a boring game and we win,” Alonso said at the time.
“It will take time to fix the moments. We still need to be competing and not give away easy chances for them to come back.”
Fortunately for Alonso, having such exciting attacking options such as Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers, and Joao Pedro will give him plenty of time to address the defensive problems while still being capable of winning games, whether it is by playing less “expansive” football or some other way.
Moises Caicedo’s return from injury significantly helped Chelsea tighten up their defence against Bournemouth last week. Alonso has also been experimenting with the shape of the team, trying out a 4-4-2 and a 5-2-3 off the ball. The long-awaited league clean sheet will surely come, hopefully sooner rather than later.