Thomas Tuchel Chelsea
Thomas Tuchel Chelsea

Chelsea got back to winning ways this weekend and they did it in style by beating Southampton 6-0, away from home. This win is a massive confidence booster for the Blues because in a few days’ time they will face Real Madrid.

Chelsea head to Spain for the 2nd leg in midweek and Thomas Tuchel could use the same tactics at the Bernabeu that he used to dismantle Hassenhuttl’s team on Saturday.

Speaking to the press, Tuchel explained how some very small tweaks to his tactics were enough to overpower Southampton.

He said after the match: “We expected a 4-4-2 (from Southampton) and both number sixes to press high.

“So we wanted to pin the defenders with two strikers and find Mason in a bit of an open position between their lines.

“We had a bit of a different role for the wing-backs today because we anticipated an aggressive 4-4-2 and wanted to have three midfielders against their two midfielders – and have an ideal position for Kai and Timo.

“That was the idea behind it, but of course it’s not about the idea – it’s about how we played, how committed we played, and the quality we played with.”

Will Chelsea use the same tactics against Real Madrid as well?

Chelsea used a 3-4-2-1 formation in the 1st leg as well but the main reason why Real Madrid were able to overpower them was because Tuchel was using two deep-lying midfielders.

Kante and Jorginho started in midfield in the 1st leg and both these players are defensive-minded in nature which meant the likes of Modric and Kroos had a lot more room to manoeuvre.

When the two Chelsea midfielders were busy stopping Kroos and Modric, Casemiro would find space by default and this is what Thomas Tuchel will have to stop at the Bernabeu.

The Chelsea boss will have to use Mateo Kovacic as one of the midfielders because he is more attack-minded meaning Casemiro will be a lot more occupied. Casemiro will then have to deal with the likes of Mount and Kovacic, thereby making his forward movements a lot more restricted.

It will be very hard for Chelsea to overturn a 3-1 deficit in the 2nd leg but if they want to stand any chance at overpowering the Los Blancos they will have to take control of the middle of the pitch and stop the three Madrid midfielders from influencing the game.

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