Chelsea started the 2023/2024 English Premier League season less smoothly. Entertaining Liverpool at home, Stamford Bridge, London, in a match titled Big Match Super Sunday, The Blues were held to a draw by The Reds with a score of 1-1. Liverpool took the lead first through Luis Diaz’s deadly flick in the 18th minute. Diaz maximized the mature bait from Mohammed Salah. This Liverpool striker from Egypt even had time to bring his team to a 0-2 lead, but his goal was disallowed after a VAR review proved to be offside.
Chelsea then equalized through defender Axel Disasi in the 37th minute. The new Chelsea defender scored after maximizing Ben Chilwell’s shot in front of Liverpool’s goal. Chilwell also did the same with Salah. Chilwell successfully scored the ball against Alisson Becker, but it was canceled after a VAR review for offside. The 1-1 score did not change until the match was over. With this draw, Chelsea and Liverpool occupy 10th and 11th positions in the standings for the first week of the English Premier League.
The 2023/2024 season is a new era for Chelsea. Starting with the captain who is now held by former Tottenham Hotspurs and PSG coach, Mauricio Pochettino. The manager with the Argentinian passport, who has long recognized competition at the land of King Charles III, was lined up as a figure who is expected to be able to restore Chelsea’s achievements which were shattered last season.
Looking at the statistics for the match against Liverpool, Pochettino provided a bit of fresh air for Chelsea. Ball possession of up to 65% compared to Liverpool’s 35% indicates that Pochettino is able to control Chelsea’s game. Even so with the composition of opportunity creation. Reece James et al were able to shoot 10 shots in which 4 led right to the opponent’s goal.
In terms of choosing players as starters, Pochettino is fairly daring to do experiments. Carrying out the 3-4-2-1 scheme, in the goalkeeping position, trust was immediately given to the new goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. He is the goalkeeper for the Spanish national team who last season defended the dark horse team Brighton and Hove Albion. At the back, Pochettino also fielded a newly recruited defender, Levi Colwill. This 20-year-old young defender immediately struggled with another new young defender from France, Axel Disasi, to accompany the senior Brazilian national team doorstop, Thiago Silva.
Meanwhile in midfield, Pochettino fielded four players who had been with last season, Reece James, Enzo Fernandez, Connor Gallagher and Ben Chilwell. The attacking midfielder duo is occupied by a duo of English national midfielders who can also play as strikers, namely Raheem Sterling and Carney Chukwuemeka. They support single striker Nicolas Jackson. All three are a mix of old and new players.
In the first week against Liverpool, it can be said that Pochettino’s experiments fielded young players who were not labeled stars. Except for reserve player Mykhailo Mudryk who came on to replace Raheem Sterling. Three young reserve players were also given a chance by Pochettino. They are midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu who replaced Ben Chilwell, defender Malo Gusto who replaced Reece James and defender Ian Maatsen who replaced Carney Chukwuemeka.
The combination of young players in the back line is actually not unified. Several times, Salah cs was able to penetrate the Chelsea defense, both from direct attack options and attempts from the offside trap. In terms of speed, the young defenders still seem to be saggy from the pressure of Jurgen Klopp’s players.
Special appreciation for the new Chelsea captain, Reece James. He started to become a leader on the field and unite senior and young players in one communicative coordination.
Chelsea lovers and fanatical fans probably won’t have much hope for the star player’s luck this season. However, the trust placed by coach Mauricio Pochettino in young players is of course interesting to wait for the surprises. It’s no longer a secret that during his time in charge of Spurs, Pochettino also gave birth to many young players to become club icons. It would be interesting to see how Chelsea’s performance at the rest of the season.
ASL
