Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel continued to show its strength. After beating Liverpool, and then another Merseyside club is the victim. The Blues won 2-0 against Everton but got a draw with Leeds United. One of the interesting things about the last two matches were Kai Havertz who played as a striker.
Tuchel always rotating Chelsea’s front line trio, including the strikers. He seems to be looking for the best composition as well as rotation due to his busy schedule. Previously there were three players who had been installed in this position, namely Olivier Giroud, Tammy Abraham, and Timo Werner. In the match against The Toffees, Tuchel tried Havertz in the striker position and the results were quite good.
Havertz was flanked by Werner and Callum Hudson-Odoi who played on the wing. The former Bayer Leverkusen player was given the freedom to move. Either it comes down to picking up the ball and becoming a progression option, or going wide for Chelsea to create a winning situation on the wing. His technical abilities above average make him able to distribute the ball well.
One example is in the moment in this second half. Chelsea built an attack from below, playing short passes to Edouard Mendy to lure Everton into high pressing. After Everton were hooked and there was room, Havertz stepped down to ask for the ball from Andreas Christensen. With an effective first touch, he doesn’t get any pressure from the opponent. Havertz passes to Mateo Kovacic on the left.
Havertz continues to move constantly. This makes it a bait again and becomes a connector between the sides of the attack. Callum Hudson-Odoi gives the ball to Havertz. Good touch and body shape makes him avoid opponent pressure. Havertz shifted the direction of the attack to the right, to Reece James as a wing defender to be precise. The German player is again giving and going so that it can be an option for James. Havertz looked like he wanted to pass a one-two but James was fouled and Chelsea got a free kick from a dangerous area.
“He played well in the spaces between the lines and used his ability to speed up our attacks and add touches in the opponent’s penalty box,” said Tuchel in the post-match interview. The quality of technique and good execution made him reliable when Chelsea built attacks from below.
Not only that, Havertz can also contribute to other situations. When Chelsea managed to progress to the final third of the field, Havertz was well positioned so that he could be a threat to the opponent’s goal. Last season, quoted from Transfermarkt, Havertz scored eight goals and one assist in eight matches when he played as a striker. The majority of his goals were scored due to good positioning.
This strength can be seen in the process of Chelsea’s two goals. The first goal, Havertz positioned himself well so that he could welcome Marcos Alonso’s cross. He was on the blindside of Michael Keane and sped up his run when Alonso was about to cross. Havertz’s shot deflects as it is hit by Ben Godfrey. Credit also goes to Hudson-Odoi and Alonso for their combined play in the scoring process.
Another moment was when he managed to hit Jordan Pickford’s goal, but was ruled out for handball. Havertz once again positioned himself well and found the gap between Keane and Godfrey. Timing a good movement allows him to welcome, control and open fire. Unfortunately, the ball touched the hand so that the goal was disallowed.
Apart from the cross situations, Havertz is also dangerous in situations where he can run in behind. Everton’s defensive line at this moment is high enough that there is space behind the defense line. Havertz was able to make the most of the situation to get a through ball from Kovacic. Pickford who was hooked out of the net made a foul for Chelsea to get a penalty. Jorginho executed well.
This position really accommodates Havertz’s abilities. He is not a creative attacking midfielder with an outstanding assisting record. The last two seasons, Havertz’s number of assists has always been smaller than his tally. Good positioning and movement off the ball allows him to get dangerous opportunities. In addition, Havertz can also be relied upon when building attacks from below with good technical execution.
Freedom of movement is what Havertz really likes from this role. “I play like a false nine, I have the freedom to move to the area I want. I like to have freedom when competing, ”said Havertz. In this match, Havertz was able to show that he was also good at several other Chelsea strikers’ strengths. Giroud is often relied on when Chelsea make chances from a cross situation, in this match it has been proven that Havertz is also strong in the scheme. Werner’s speed is very reliable for exploiting high defensive line, this is not a problem for Havertz. Abraham is a striker who is more balanced in terms of physique and speed than Giroud and Werner. Havertz can be said to be similar, in fact he has a better technique than Abraham.
This position is the position where Havertz is most productive in Leverkusen. In the match against Everton, Havertz again proved his quality. If he can be consistent and maintain a good performance when playing in this position, Havertz has a great opportunity to become Tuchel’s main option in the striker position.
ASL
