3 Things We Learned from Chelsea vs. Wrexham

Marc Guiu, Enzo Maresca, and the Inverted Full Back

Hello all!

First of all I want to say a huge thanks to everyone who tuned into my watch along last night it was amazing to see so much of the Chelsea community together on my channel. Also, I want to give Simon a huge thanks for letting me be apart of this amazing platform and using his brand to cross-promote my channel.

Now onto the game. Chelsea drew 2-2 with Wrexham, but lets not focus too much on the result, as your priorities when assessing preseason should go like this.

1. Health

2. Tactics

3. Results

I believe Chelsea did really well in the first two, so I think that is a win in my eyes.

Here are the three most important things I learned from last evenings match.

1. Marc Guiu is for real.

Marc Guiu was the man of the match for me last night. He was everything that I could have hoped for and more. The 18-year-old, who signed from Barcelona this summer, showed a fantastic work rate and understanding of what it will take to be a striker in Enzo Maresca’s system.

To keep it simple, Guiu was an absolute menace. His ability to make runs through the channels and make himself available to long passes from the midfield and defense was impressive. Even if he didn't get the pass, he pulled centrebacks and created more openings for the other attackers to fill his vacated space. Guiu was calm and composed on the ball, dropping into the midfield to link up the play, making himself available in possession, and playing intelligent passes. Even though it wasn't intentional, Guiu ended up with an assist; it was well-deserved after his performance.

The best thing I saw from Guiu was his defensive work rate. Maresca’s system relies on winning the ball back quickly after losing it and creating quick counterattacks by winning the ball back in the attacking third. Guiu won 4/6 ground duels and was constantly pressuring the goalkeeper when they tried to recycle possession, making life incredibly difficult for the entire Wrexham backline.

This performance was an excellent start for Guiu, who impressed Maresca and hopes to become a real option for Chelsea this upcoming season. Let’s hope he continues his ascension throughout the preseason.

2. Enzo Maresca’s Tactics and Tendencies are Becoming Habits

When watching the match, it was clear that the team was still getting used to Maresca’s tactics, but the idealogy and tendencies were starting to be carried out by the players, especially in the first half. The right fullbacks (Reece James & Malo Gusto) were inverting. The wingers played on the touchline, making darting runs and looking for through balls from the attacking midfielders. Workrate and counter-pressing were clearly a priority as Carney Chukwumeka, Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Noni Madueke, and Marc Guiu were making it a priority to chase down Wrexham players after turning the ball over.

It was good to see all those things we had been pondering come to fruition in the first game. It was still rough. The second group in the second half had a tough time finding the rhythm in possession that the first-half group had, but it was the first match, and we should expect players not to be as smooth right away. One thing to note is that Carney Chukwumeka played the entire game, which is an excellent sign that he could go the entire match and was more active on the ball in the second half when Nkunku wasn’t on the pitch.

Now, we just hope that the natural assimilation to the tactics will continue to gain more fluidity, and as the rest of the players return from holiday, they can step right into a well-oiled machine.

3. The Inverted Full Back

As advertised, we saw Maresca invert his right-sided full-back for 90 minutes in the match. Reece James looked very comfortable in that role, having played an entire season at DM while at Wigan. The partnership is essential to the success of this tactic; while there were a few choppy moments, Lavia and James looked like a solid partnership as a duo. It will be fascinating to see what it looks like when Caicedo and Enzo come back and how Maresca decides to pair the two. Still, getting that partnership right is essential as they need to be quick on their feet, able to operate in tight spaces, and look to make forward passes to willing runners to progress the ball centrally.

Malo Gusto wasn’t as structured when he played in that position; he was much more free-roaming and didn’t look as secure in his defensive responsibilities. That said, the entire second half was rough from a defensive aspect, as it was a group that hadn’t played in those positions or with each other much.

I have one concern specifically about the inverting, which is in the space vacated by the inverting fullback. The winger on the side of the inversion must trackback. Wrexham exploited that space several times, and there was a little confusion about who should be closing down that player who exploited the space.

It will certainly be worked on with trial and error, but I would imagine that against a better team, Chelsea could be hurt if they don’t get that balance right.

Conclusion

All in all, if you follow the three points listed above for goals in a preseason match, it was a successful first outing for Maresca. Nobody got hurt; we started to see tactics and ideas take shape, and they got a result. I am excited to see the natural progression and how the team learns from their mistakes.

A couple of other individual shoutouts I want to give our Tyrqiue George, who looked extremely calm and skilled on the ball (I think we will be seeing more of him); Wesley Fofana also looked pretty good, it was generally rough, but for his first competitive match in sometimes he was being physical and willing to put a challenge in, and finally I was impressed with the entire backline in the first half Tosin Adarabioyo, Benoit Badiashile, and Levi Colwill.

Just a reminder, there will be no live watch along for the Chelsea vs. Celtic match as I will be attending and creating a vlog recapping my trip. However, we will be back with another watch along on Wednesday, July 31st, for the match against Club America!

~ CFCDP (Dylan)