The competition for qualifying for the UEFA Champions League has reignited in the final stages of the Premier League.
While new champions Liverpool have already secured their place, another Champions League spot now hinges on a direct battle between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Europa League final.
Four qualifying spots remain, spanning from second to fifth place.
A closer look at the Premier League table reveals an intensely competitive scenario:
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Arsenal hold second place with 68 points,
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Newcastle United sit third with 66 points,
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Manchester City occupy fourth place with 65 points,
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Chelsea round out the top five with 63 points
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Aston Villa sit sixth with 63 points (level on points)
- Nottingham Forest follow in seventh with 62 points
Each teams next two matches will effectively become Cup Finals, where the smallest details could prove decisive.
Set-pieces are among the most critical factors and could prove decisive in this tight race.
This analysis will focus particularly on The Blues approach.
At the end of the previous season, Chelsea reached an agreement with Brentford to acquire set-piece specialist Bernardo Cueva in a deal valued between £750,000.
The agreement stipulated his official transition to Chelsea at the start of the new season.
Chelseas set-piece statistics this season (Cuevas first with the club) have been respectable, though hardly exceptional.
The team currently ranks:
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Sixth in the Premier League for set-piece goals (11)
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Seventh for expected goals (XG) from set-pieces (11.59)
We say that it is moderate and acceptable because the xG differential between Chelsea and the league-leading Gunners stands at approximately 4.3.
This pattern persists in corners, where Chelsea ranks eighth among top set-piece scoring teams with six goals, trailing Arsenals division-best output by five goals.
These metrics indicate competent but unexceptional performance to date.
Considering that this season is his debut season and that of Enzo Marescas entire technical staff, coupled with the teams transitional phase and inflated squad size, these results appear reasonable.
However, deeper analysis reveals additional limiting factors that have prevented more pronounced success.
This tactical analysis will focus on attacking corner tactics, highlighting critical Chelsea deficiencies:
The absence of a specialist taker capable of executing Cuevas signature Brentford preferred corner idea, which demands a specific crossing technique, besides a lack of luck sometimes.
Bernardo Cueva Corner Tactics At Brentford
Starting with his preferred routine with Brentford, Bernardo Cueva loved to target the near post around the edge of the six-yard by an expected in-swinging cross, as in the photo below.
It is also important to mention that it is so different from targeting the near post more inside (the yellow cross below ), as usual, to flick the ball or hit it directly to the goal.
Targeting this outer area is important because most defending teams locate their zonal line closer to the post due to the expected trajectory of the in-swinging cross.
This includes the zonal defender standing on the near post.
They may also put an additional player standing near the vertical edge of the six-yard, as the Spurs did below.
Here comes the deception: Bryan Mbeumo will deliver an in-swinging cross with a moderate curve rather than a heavy whip, using the inside-of-foot technique to direct the ball toward the far-post zone instead of the near post.
Lets explain the routine itself against Tottenham, who defended zonally.
As shown below, he preferred to ask all six box attackers to start in a pack together and then move to their assigned starting positions.
The seventh (outside the spot) will come back as a
