[ligue des CLOCHARDS] Betis - Chelsea

Meilleure finale que celle de l’Europa

C'était pas difficile. Bonne semaine pour Chelsea.

Allez hop, 4 buts.

Chelsea première équipe au monde à avoir toutes les coupes continentales.

Dommage

Je suis triste pour Isco qui était à fond dans ce match

Quel match de folie.

Finito, ça y est.

Bon....

Pellegrini's team executed their plan to near perfection in the opening of the game during the first half. They created dangeerous chances while Chelsea struggled to find any rythm. However, Maresca turned the ties over the second half. In possession, Chelsea wanted to create a 3 2 5 shape to build their attacks. So when playing out from the back, the first step would see the 2 center backs split wide to form a back 3 with the goalkepper whilst we would see a more loopsided shape in the midfield with Malo Gusto moving more centrally from right back, alongside Caicedo. And Cucurella hugging the touchline. Then as Chelsea would move slightly further up the pitch, the shape would be completed with the back 3 being formed. Initially, Real Betis pressed Chelsea well with their front 3 applying pressure on Chelsea's back 3, and Betis would also cover the movements of the holding midfielders in the center. There was no much space for centrla progresssion so they went out wide with Chalabah being then closed down. This aggressive shape high up the pitch led to Betis first goal with Betis gain the ball back and then exploiting the fact that Chelsea wanted their right, fullback Malo Gusto, inverting into a more central position. In a 3 2 5, the box in the center is crucial for the team's progression but there also need to be connexion between the wingers and the striker. Otherwise, the front line is isolated when they receive the ball. Enze Fernandez and Cole Palmer were the targets between the lines. They would frequently move out wide to receive the ball in pockets of space either side of the midfield. Whilst there is nothing inherently wrong from this, because of the high defensive line from Betis and there being little space for the forward, it meant Fernandez and Palmer would have to drop deeper and deeper to receive the ball, eventually isolating the front 3 in attack.

The combinations between Gusto and Neto weren't creating many dangers and with Palmer now in a position far away from the box, it was tough for Chelseato find a way through. This high bar center from Betis often led to Chelsea's striker Jackson dropping off the defensive line to receive the ball. And even if the 3 2 5 gave them options, even when the ball went to the wingers, there wouldn't be solutions. Chelsea's shape at times looked more of a 3 2 3 2. And when Chelsea lost the ball, they would be vulnerable to Real Betis counter attacks with them often going long directly. Chelsea can be happy that the scoreline was only 1 0 in favour of Betis at the first half time. In the second half time, Chelsea beat the first line of Betis press more successfully but then they still needed the final pass into the final third. Another point is that the 3 2 5 often work better with inverting wingers as they will move more centrally and connect play in a more dangerous position. When Madueke, being left footed, was playing on the left side in the first half, it meant it was difficult for him to connect play on this flank and would often look to play the ball into the half space or go down the line himself which would lead Chelsea to be isolated on his flank.This is what Meresca addressed in the second half. At the end of the first half already we would see Chelsea building their attacks further and further up the pitch as Betis would slowly slide into a mid block shape. This allowed them to get more players into the box on each attack and rather than going down the line or looking for runs into the half space, they started to look for more crosses into the center where players from the opposite flank could then push forward. But the change from Chelsea that completly turned the game around was the right flank.

During the first half, Chelsea struggled both in attack and in defense there. Reece James would enter instead of Gusto, which gave them more control they needed to retain possession and slowly gain territorial dominance. Now they would start their attacks insdie of the opposition's half and could find connexions between the players more easily. Secondly, this change allowed players like Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez to stay much further up the pitch anf to form the line of 5 that is essential for the 3 2 5 shape to work. Betis press would become less effective and Chelsea were controlling the tempo more easily. It was clear they were getting exhausted as the space between the defense and the midfield was getting larger and larger. The final change that completed Chelsea's offensive transformation was the introduction of Jadon Sancho on the left wing. This meant Madueke moved over to hsi preferred right flank. And now the front 5 were all in their natural position. The equalizer came soon after with Palmer pushing forward and cutting inside, delivering a pin point cross for Fernandez to head past Adrian. The turn around was complete just a few minutes later with Palmer receiving the ball out wide before skipping past his man and finding Jackson in the box. 2 quick counter attacks saw Chelsea going 3 - 1 and finally 4 - 1 up. This win means for Chelsea that they are becoming the first club to win all the major european trophies.