WSL 2022/23 : How Chelsea exploited Manchester City’s finishing issues – tactical analysis

Chelsea Women hosted Manchester City Women for the second fixture of the 2022/23 WSL season and the game ended with an important Chelsea win which would give a psychological boost to the team in order to continue in their positive run of form just like in the previous one.

Chelsea are actually very difficult to beat in the WSL because they not only won numerous league titles in a row but also because they have managed to get a certain amount of experience that allows them to know how to earn the three points even when they don’t manage to play well. And that’s exactly what happened in this clash between the Blues and the Cityzens.

Chelsea didn’t really dominate this match but they were rather the ones who conceded the bigger number of shots and attacks. Nevertheless, they were decisive enough when they got the opportunity to threaten Manchester City’s goal, and that’s mostly what helped them take the three points.

Finishing and shooting accuracy are what lacked Manchester City in this match as they were able to threaten Chelsea’s goal on numerous occasions but all of their attempts were missed either thanks to Ann-Katrin Berger’s saves or due to poor finishing. This means that Manchester City were able to attack, create chances and reach the box despite playing at Kingsmeadow, but they were unable to score.

The team didn’t start the season in a positive way as they lost two games in a row, against Aston Villa and Chelsea. Therefore, Manchester City should make a reaction in their upcoming game against Leicester City in order to make up for the missed points at the start of this season. A lot of work on finishing and concentration in front of goal is required so as to score more goals per match and exploit the created chances in the needed way, knowing that the team doesn’t lack quality players in almost all positions.

In this tactical analysis article, we will be exploring the reasons that led to Manchester Citys second loss of the season while shedding some light on Chelsea’s attacking tactics and identifying their weaknesses.

Lineups

But before delving into the analysis, let’s have an idea of how both teams were lined-up during this match. Emma Hayes, Chelsea’s head coach Emma Hayes preferred to start using the 4-2-3-1 formation with Ann-Katrin Berger as a goalkeeper, Maren Mjelde, Millie Bright, Kadeisha Buchanan and Magdalena Eriksson in defence, Jessie Fleming and Erin Cuthbert as central midfielders, Guro Reiten and former Manchester United’s Lauren James as a winger, Fran Kirby as an advanced playmaker and Sam Kerr as the team’s striker.

On the other side, Manchester City opted for the 4-3-3 formation in this match with Ellie Roebuck as a goalkeeper, Kerstin Casparij, Steph Houghton, Alex Greenwood and Leila Ouahabi in defence, Laura Coombs, Deyna Castellanos and Laia Aleixandri as central midfielders, Chloe Kelly and Lauren Hemp on the wings while Khadija Shaw was the team’s forward.

Chelsea’s performance

Chelsea match performance was not a very convincing one as the team conceded too many chances and risked conceding a number of goals if not for Berger’s saves. It is true that the Blues were superior in terms of possession with 59,27% against 40,76% yet this didn’t mean that Chelsea were secure.

On the contrary, they will need to be much more compact and allow fewer penetrations to happen inside their own final third and penalty area. Manchester City looked more aggressive on the ball and in duels and that’s what helped them disturb Chelsea a lot.

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