It was the kind of defending that shows why Levi Colwill is now a must-pick for Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca in central defence.
In the 94th minute of Chelsea’s 1-0 victory at Bournemouth on Saturday, fellow defender Wesley Fofana strangely cantered forward with the ball in search of another goal and lost possession on the edge of the home side’s penalty area. It could have been a free kick, but this was a rare moment where referee Anthony Taylor, who showed 16 yellow cards on the night (including to both managers), decided not to blow his whistle.
With three team-mates caught upfield in attack with Fofana, Bournemouth were gifted a great opportunity on the counter-attack as they had a seven-vs-six situation. The ball quickly moved to Philip Billing on the right flank and his cross was heading towards Enes Unal. The latter had made a fine run across Tosin Adarabioyo and would have had the chance to beat goalkeeper Robert Sanchez from just six yards. But Colwill stretched out his left leg at the near post to clear the ball for a corner. This was a brilliant combination of positioning and timing to be able to intervene. Sanchez quickly went over to acknowledge his efforts.
It was not his only key intervention as Chelsea secured their first clean sheet away from home since October 2. For example, five minutes earlier, Colwill had been in the perfect place to block a shot from the in-form Antoine Semenyo when it looked like the attacker had a clear sight of Sanchez’s goal.
There is still plenty of room for improvement defensively for Chelsea, but it is noticeable how Colwill is growing in stature with each match he plays in his preferred position at left centre-back. Under head coach Mauricio Pochettino last season, the 21-year-old was often played at left-back, with Axel Disasi or Benoit Badiashile preferred next to veteran Thiago Silva instead.
Colwill did his best for the team but never looked entirely comfortable. One of the most glaring examples of that was in the 1-0 loss against Middlesbrough in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final in January. The winning goal from Hayden Hackney came after Isaiah Jones had outsmarted and outrun the youngster.
It was one of the topics that came up during good-natured conversations with Maresca in pre-season. While Colwill is prepared to play anywhere the Italian wants him to, just like with Pochettino, he did admit his desire to play as a left-sided centre-back. The conversations, as well as performances in training and the friendlies, clearly paid off because Colwill has started all four Premier League games there. His main rival for the role, Badiashile, has only been used in the Conference League qualifying round games against Servette.
Colwill seemed intent on proving a point to Maresca from the outset. In the second minute of Chelsea’s first friendly of the summer, he got involved in a heated shoving match with Wrexham’s James McClean. The incident that sparked the exchange was fairly tame, as McClean made a bit of contact after Colwill had passed the ball. Some observers questioned whether the intensity of Colwill’s response was warranted, but it did demonstrate he is in no mood for anyone to push him around and up for the challenges ahead.
One of the accusations that has been rightly levelled at the current squad compared to their more successful predecessors is that everyone is a little bit nice and does not get involved in confrontations enough. There is a fine line and you cannot afford to go too far, but players do need to show a willingness to defend the badge and each other on occasion. Colwill sent a message that he was going to do just that by standing up to McClean. He’s continued in the same vein ever since.
Last season was Colwill’s first in the senior setup and, perhaps inevitably, he was not too demonstrative as he settled in. But now he is one of the most vocal members on the pitch, so much so Maresca has already earmarked him as a potential captain. Speaking last month, Maresca said: “I am thinking to nominate one or two more captains. Some of them need to take one step forward and take more responsibility. For instance, one of the guys would be Levi. He is a young player, fantastic profile, I love Levi. But I think in terms of personality, if he is able to take one step forward in these types of things, then he can become a more complete player.”
One of the important duties a captain must do is speak regularly to the media — sometimes on difficult subjects. Well, Colwill, who was given the armband by Pochettino for the first time in a game against Manchester United last season, could not have faced a more awkward test than the one he faced in July. He was quizzed on Enzo Fernandez joining up for training for the first time after being involved in a racism row that overshadowed Argentina’s Copa America victory and threatened to destabilise the Chelsea dressing room. However, Colwill showed no sign of nerves and came across as very mature for his age.
Colwill is already feeling the difference now he is in his second campaign as a Chelsea player. Before making the breakthrough, he had been given a chance to develop on loan at Huddersfield Town and Brighton, but everything he has gone through at Chelsea over the past 12 months has helped him go up another level.
“I’ve grown as a person and as a player,” he said recently. “Playing left-back for most of the year was challenging, but I understand the position a lot more, so whenever I do play centre-half, I understand what’s needed of a full-back and what’s needed of a centre-half to help. So there have definitely been loads of improvements from last season.”
Maresca’s game is all about keeping possession and Colwill is doing that better than anyone at the club this season. According to Fbref, Colwill has completed 277 passes out of 299, a passing accuracy of 92.6 per cent, which is the highest among the seven individuals, including Cole Palmer and Moises Caicedo, who have started every league game. He has also passed for the greatest distance at 5,350 yards. The next closest is Fofana, with 4,296.
Anyone who has not watched the games closely may be underwhelmed with these statistics, picturing the England international stroking the ball again and again to someone in his own half when the opponents are sitting back, offering no pressure. But Fbref shows he has completed 170 out of 174 passes over what they consider to be a ‘medium’ distance. Another 21 out of 29 have found their target from long range — one of those was a delicious ball from halfway to Joao Felix in the Bournemouth penalty area at the weekend. A further sign of his confidence came in the same fixture when he strode out from the back and ended up putting a perfect through ball for Nicolas Jackson to register a shot on goal.
When you graduate from a club’s academy rather than being a player the hierarchy or a coach has bought in the market, the battle to make your mark is harder. Playing for Chelsea, a club that has consistently been selling academy players under Roman Abramovich as well as the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium, makes the task of becoming a trusted member of the first team even greater.
Chelsea’s starting XI at Bournemouth cost over £450million in transfer fees. Colwill was the only one who did not cost the club a penny. It was a reminder that you do not have to pay a fortune to have a very valuable asset in your line-up.
(Top photo: David Horton – CameraSport via Getty Images)
