The tactical battle explains the pattern of a football match but the result is dependent upon small moments – and Chelsea’s 3-1 victory against Manchester City was a perfect example. Had Kevin De Bruyne, the outstanding player for the first hour, converted an open goal to put Manchester City 2-0 ahead, the story would have been about how Pep Guardiola had exposed Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3 system. Instead, De Bruyne somehow contrived to hit the bar and Chelsea’s subsequent comeback means Guardiola’s system is questioned. The reality is not quite so simple.
This was a frantic, energetic, end-to-end contest that was highly tactical and ludicrously open. Guardiola’s choice of formation was, as ever, unpredictable, even once his starting XI was announced but was something approaching a 3-2-4-1. Guardiola would go three against three at the back, which depended upon the wingers, Leroy Sané and Jesús Navas, tracking Chelsea’s wing-backs diligently. It meant that there were essentially two major tactical features of this game: first, it was about the wing-backs switching off and neglecting their defensive responsibilities; second, it was about City leaving themselves three against three in defence and Chelsea breaking past them with ease.
The wing-back situation was obvious throughout the first half. Despite some impressive recent showings, Victor Moses is not a natural in the position and his defensive shortcomings were exposed when David Silva floated a wonderful ball over the top for Sané, breaking past him as he ball-watched. Sané could not quite convert. Going the other way, however, the attack-minded Sané had serious problems when forced to track Moses.
On the opposite flank, Navas sometimes ended up at right-back, pushed there by Marcos Alonso. Sometimes he was attracted too easily to his fellow Spaniard, which was the case for Chelsea’s first good goalscoring opportunity, when Eden Hazard accelerated into the space behind him, rounded Claudio Bravo but surprisingly elected not to shoot from a very tight angle.
Alonso, meanwhile, is a more natural wing-back than Sané, Navas or Moses, and initially performed his defensive responsibilities well, sticking tight to Navas. However, Hazard’s lack of interest in defending meant there was space towards that flank, so De Bruyne drifted into that zone and repeatedly tried powerful, low crosses from an inside-right position. Alonso started to struggle, though, and eventually it was Navas who provided the cross for City’s opener, clumsily diverted into his own net by Gary Cahill.
Navas also crossed for that crucial De Bruyne miss and while City continued to dominate possession, Chelsea took charge – and took advantage of City’s lack of a spare man at the back, too. Whereas Guardiola used Silva and De Bruyne to overload Chelsea in midfield, ensuring that City dominated possession, Hazard and Willian – on for Pedro in the 50th minute – quickly moved high up against the City back three. If Chelsea could transfer the ball quickly into attack, the attackers simply had one man to beat to get through on goal. That was exactly what happened repeatedly throughout the second half.
Chelsea’s goals were all particularly direct. First, Cesc Fàbregas received a short pass inside his own half, glancing up twice to check Diego Costa’s positioning even before controlling the ball, and then launched a long, pinpoint pass to the striker’s chest. Costa only had Nicolás Otamendi to outmuscle before smashing the ball past Claudio Bravo. It was wonderful play from Fàbregas, who was making his first start in this 3-4-3 system and offered a greater range of passing than the injured Nemanja Matic, which was perfect for a direct approach.
The second goal was entirely different – a classic counterattacking move involving the front three: Hazard bringing the ball out of defence and Costa coming short and playing the ball perfectly into the path of the onrushing Willian to smash home. But again, it only needed one Chelsea attacker to beat his opponent, Costa getting the better of Otamendi again by turning him smartly in the centre circle.
The third arrived in stoppage time, after Guardiola had gambled by introducing the striker Kelechi Iheanacho in place of the centre-back John Stones. But it was, yet again, entirely simple and involved one Chelsea attacker beating a City defender, with Hazard streaking away from Aleksandar Kolarov before finishing coolly to cap an outstanding counterattacking performance after half-time.
Eventually Chelsea’s win felt comfortable – but more than Conte getting the better of Guardiola, this was a fascinating, complex tactical battle unlike anything the Premier League has produced before: 3-4-3 against 3-2-4-1. In a tactical sense, the summer arrival of Guardiola and Conte has taken the Premier League to a new level.