Chelsea tactics: 5 ways the Blues will cope without Morata
By David Gate
Spice Up The Midfield
The Chelsea line up against Manchester City was defensive. Very defensive. Like, challenging-your-racist-Uncle-on-Facebook defensive. Conte started with five defenders; three center backs and Azpilicueta and Alonso as wing backs. He also has Kante and Bakayoko playing deep. After Morata went off he had Willian, Hazard and Fabregas as the attackers.
While this ultra-cautious approach prevented City running riot it did not stop them winning. One thing that Conte could immediately to help Chelsea in Morata’s absence is to play with a more offensively minded midfield.
Playing Victor Moses or Kenedy at full back would instantly change the dynamics. They miss having Azpilicueta at the back – especially with Luis suspended. Moses offers far more penetration than the Spaniard.
One reason Azpilicueta has had more games at wing back is for his crossing. He has connected with Morata on numerous occasions already. But with the striker out there is a much reduced need for crossing.
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Chelsea could also shift to playing only one of Kante and Bakayoko to really loosen the midfield. What is more likely is that Bakayoko will get to play much further forward and leave Kante to marshal the space in front of the defense.