Chelsea’s muddled midfield behind Antonio Conte’s downfall
By James Dudko
Chelsea’s muddled midfield approach has caused Antonio Conte’s downfall.
Antonio Conte is on borrowed time at Chelsea. You know it, I know it and, apparently, so does he. The Italian appeared to call for the Blues to sack him after seeing his side lose 4-1 to Watford in the Premier League on Monday.
Conte told BBC Radio 5 live (h/t BBC Sport):
"My position? It is the same.I stay here, try to work and put all of myself into the work. The pressure? Which pressure? What is the pressure?I work – if this is enough it is OK. Otherwise, the club have to take another decision."
Conte has regularly criticized Chelsea’s transfer policy since he won the title last season, his first in England’s top flight. Yet there is more than just suspect recruitment behind the Blues’ alarmingly fast slide from champions to also rans in fourth.
Chelsea and Conte’s problems are as much about a muddled picture in midfield, where transfers have only made things worse.
The main issue has been an altered role for N’Golo Kante. Last season the Frenchman, who had been the backbone of Leicester’s Cinderella title win in 2016, brilliantly led the charge for Conte’s free-flowing squad.
Yet there’s often been a misconception about Kante, based on his aggressive playing style. Kante is not a steady midfield anchor in the mold of Claude Makelele; he’s a seek-and-destroy shuttler who is at his best when he keeps his talents on the move.
Kante’s game is as much about energy as tough tackling. His ability to press and harass opponents into mistakes higher up the pitch proved crucial for a side devastating on the counter a season ago.
Kante was was only given a roving brief as a destroyer because he had Nemanja Matic in the the vital holding role behind him. The decision to sell Matic to rivals Manchester United looked a curious one last summer.
However, another misjudgement of another midfielder wrecked Chelsea’s title-winning balance.
When the club paid £40 million to sign Tiemoue Bakayoko from Ligue 1 champions Monaco last summer, it looked like a coup. The Blues, it seemed, had acquired a younger, even more physically intimidating version of Matic.
Yet Bakayoko has been a million miles removed from stay-at-home defensive midfielder. His wanderlust, dubious decision-making and desire to break forward have regularly emptied midfield, leaving Chelsea exposed in defensive areas.
Bakayoko’s struggles, emphasised by the red card he received against Watford, have added to Kante’s burden. Without the security of a player behind him, the 26-year-old has been exposed.
His passing hasn’t been efficient enough, leading to some costly turnovers in dangerous areas. Meanwhile, a player so easily attracted to the ball has been quickly drawn out of position by smart, pass-and-move teams.
Chelsea might have been able to recreate the balance Kante needed after signing Danny Drinkwater late during the summer transfer window. The two formed the heart of Leicester’s midfield during that miraculous 2015-16 season.
Kante was able to break up threats wherever he found them because Drinkwater sat deep and launched the long balls Foxes’ striker Jamie Vardy thrived on.
Yet Conte has been strangely reluctant to get the band together and start Drinkwater alongside Kante. It’s left the latter to play a holding role he’s not suited to, whether it has been in support of Bakayoko or Cesc Fabregas.
The lack of balance in the middle is why Chelsea were beaten 2-1 by Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semifinal. Mesut Ozil routinely got behind Kante and Bakayoko while they struggled to decide who should break forward and who should stay at home.
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Similar issues led to the recent 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth. The Cherries swarmed around both Kante and Bakayoko at Stamford Bridge, regularly playing passes behind Kante’s reckless runs toward the ball.
Tracking runners from midfield continued to be a problem at Vicarage Road, where Watford got Roberto Pereyra and Richarlison beyond the Chelsea midfield at will.
A Kante-Drinkwater double act with Fabregas in front to supply Eden Hazard and Pedro would have solved two problems for Conte. It would have stabilized midfield, while removing the need for a target-man striker in Alvaro Morata’s absence.
Instead, the inability to clear the confusion in midfield looks sure to cost Conte his job, likely less than a season after he lifted the title.