Advantage Chelsea: How Tuchel’s tactical tweaks helped the Blues best West Ham – tactical analysis

This weekend in the Premier League season saw a vital London derby on the cards with 5th placed West Ham hosting 4th placed Chelsea. The clash’s significance the race for the Champions League spots was huge,  with both teams on 55 points before this match. 

Chelsea went into the game having had a mixed result against Brighton in midweek and Tuchel would have had an eye on the Champions League semi-final clash against Real Madrid in a few days. West Ham meanwhile have had a great season but are in the middle of a slight slump with injuries and suspension to some key players. 

This tactical analysis features a detailed explanation of the tactics deployed by both managers. Lets begin the analysis.

Lineups

West Ham lined up in their usual 3-4-3 formation that would shift into a 3-4-1-2 often with Fornals in a roaming role behind the two strikers. Fabian Balbuena was drafted in by Moyes for the suspended Craig Dawson. 

Chelsea on the other hand lined up in the same 3-4-2-1 system that Tuchel has been using recently with a lot of success. He made 7 changes to the side that was held to a 0-0 draw against Brighton with only Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger, Jorginho and Mason Mount being retained.

West Ham’s central coverage forced Chelsea wide

West Ham went with their usual 3-4-3 formation which often varied into a 3-4-1-2 when they did not have possession. Fornals would probably start behind the likes of Lingard and Bowen as he would be tasked to keep Jorginho in check. Moyes opted for a mid-block with very less intense pressing that saw the Chelsea centre-backs get more time on the ball. We can see that in the image below where West Ham forwards and central midfielders have formed a pentagonal block at the centre around Kante and Jorginho. If the ball is played to one of them then they would be pressed aggressively by the surrounding West Ham players.