Two matches this morning (23/9) of the Carabao Cup competition or the English League Cup felt like a Premier League competition match. It is Chelsea who meet Aston Villa and Manchester United who meet West Ham.
Aston Villa and West Ham are often considered “dark horses” teams in the Premier League. They can surprise anyone, including teams that are categorized as “big six” namely Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Man City, Liverpool, or Tottenham.
Chelsea were forced to play 1-1 until extra time. After extra time, the adrenaline of the Chelsea players and supporters was pumped strongly when watching the penalty shootout.
Once again, Chelsea thanked Kepa Arrizabalaga who was in goal post. In addition to kicking one of the Aston Villa players on the crossbar, Kepa also managed to save an Aston Villa player’s shot.
Kepa is one of the heroes in this fight. Slowly but surely, Kepa who had been marginalized began to get a place. For two matches in a row, Kepa was entrusted to play the full game.
This can increase confidence and at the same time make the competition between goalkeepers better. Eduoard Mendy still has a place at Chelsea, but the division of space in goal could benefit players’ fitness.
This Chelsea appearance reinforces the depth of the squad they have. Furthermore, the depth of this squad is matched by the mentality of the players who are able to deal with difficult situations.
The depth of the Chelsea squad will be the key to Chelsea’s journey in 4 different competitions this season. It appears that Chelsea are not taking the Carabao Cup lightly. Thomas Tuchel wants his foster children to compete and if possible win every game.
In this match, Tuchel played a different formation than usual. 4-3-3 formation. Usually, Tuchel puts 3 defenders with 5 midfielders. Perhaps Tuchel’s tactics want to accommodate the character of the players who have been handed down.
Tuchel included several players who rarely played in the Premier League in the starting eleven. Starting from the back line, Tuchel played R. James, M. Sarr, and B. Chilwell. With this, Tuchel benched T. Silva and Rudiger.
While in midfield, Tuchel still entrusts Kante. Perhaps to improve the fitness of the French national team player who just returned from injury last week, but then Kante was also replaced. Kante is flanked by Loftus-Cheek in the middle and Saul on the right.
On the front line, Tuhcel included Hudson-Odoi, T Werner and H. Ziyech. With a composition like this, Tuchel has a squad depth that cannot be underestimated.
Also, no exaggeration when considering the squad that was revealed in this match. It looks like Tuchel is looking at the important match at the end of next evening, where Chelsea will play against Manchester City.
In 3 meetings against Man City last season, Tuchel managed to overcome Guardiola’s troops. However, Tuchel definitely wants to maintain that trend and still secure his place in the first position of the Premier League.
Luckily Tuchel has a capable squad. So when there is a busy schedule between important and demanding matches, Tuchel can make good use of the depth of his squad. Chelsea managed to overcome Aston Villa shows the mentality of the Chelsea players.
In contrast to Chelsea, Manchester United was subdued by West Ham. West Ham’s victory seemed to be a revenge match for what happened in the 5th week of the Premier League.
Painfully West Ham lost at home. This match in the Premier League was painful because West Ham failed to execute a penalty in the last minute to equalize with MU.
It didn’t take long for West Ham to close the wound three days ago. This time, West Ham buried MU’s chances of advancing more in the Carabao Cup with only a single goal in the 9th minute.
West Ham locked Manchester United in control of the game. Just like Chelsea, MU is also dominated by back-up players. Cristiano Ronaldo was not sent. On the crossbar, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer entrusts Henderson. Then, in defense to the front line, Solksjaer put players who rarely played so far.
Approximately only Lingard and Sancho are counted as players who have played many minutes in the MU squad when they met West Ham. The rest, the back-up players who get little or no playing time at all.
However, this MU squad cannot perform much. MU failed to reply to West Ham’s goal which was created in the early minutes of the match. It seems that MU has no option to change the situation or that MU is starting to depend on Cristiano Ronaldo.
MU dominance in front of their supporters themselves do not bear positive results. So, MU lost one chance to get a trophy this season.
Chelsea and Manchester United both fielded back-up players in the Carabao Cup. However, the depth of the Chelsea squad is more promising than that of Manchester United. The depth of this squad can determine their journey in the Premier League.
