Enzo Maresca doesn’t seem the type to share Mauricio Pochettino’s belief in the spiritual power of lemons, but he should remember that their best use is to make lemonade.
That is, in tactical terms, building his Chelsea team according to the profiles of the best players, rather than fitting them to the system. In particular, Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer — as they proved in scoring the goals in their 3-0 win at West Ham United.
Chelsea were three up in 50 minutes. It was convincing and controlled, especially considering they last won at the London Stadium in April 2021.
Speaking to TNT Sports afterwards, Maresca was asked how the players have bought into his style so quickly. “It’s quite easy, if they don’t buy in, they don’t play,” he responded, with a smile.
It wasn’t menacing and didn’t seem directed at anyone, but was a reminder of how dogmatic Premier League coaches are.
Maresca was pleased with the result but unsatisfied tactically: “Sometimes we need more passes and (to) keep the ball but we are in a rush and trying to attack immediately.”
Chelsea’s third goal was pure counter-attack. A 13-second move with five passes, going box-to-box. On a three-v-two, Palmer overlapped Jackson, the striker slotted him through on the angle and Palmer fired in off the post.
That was the 10th Premier League goal that Palmer and Jackson have combined for since the start of 2023-24 — in that time they are the best attacking duo in the division.
|
Duo
|
Chances
|
Goals
▼
|
|---|---|---|
|
22
|
10
|
|
|
22
|
8
|
|
|
26
|
7
|
|
|
39
|
7
|
|
|
16
|
7
|
|
|
24
|
6
|
|
|
33
|
5
|
|
|
9
|
5
|
|
|
21
|
5
|
|
|
17
|
5
|
|
|
22
|
5
|
|
|
22
|
5
|
|
|
24
|
5
|
There was a similar counter-attack for the opener versus Crystal Palace, this time Palmer assisted Jackson.
On that occasion, they only needed three passes in 11 seconds to create a tap-in. Palmer ran inside Chris Richards and onto Noni Madueke’s diagonal pass, before squaring it to Jackson at the back post.
Then there was Palmer’s exceptional lob at Wolverhampton Wanderers. After Robert Sanchez launched a quick goal kick, Jackson flicked it on and the England international spotted Jose Sa off his line.
All three goals were this season, and while last term there were more instances of Palmer assisting Jackson against a settled defence, clearly the pair work better in transition.
This season, only Liverpool and Fulham can match Chelsea’s 23 direct attacks. Opta define these as sequences which start just inside a team’s half, include at least 50 per cent forward movement, ending in a shot/touch in the opposition’s box.
Of those 23, six have led to goals, the most in the league.
Palmer and Jackson suit transitions because of their versatility. Jackson can operate like a winger out on the left, running at defenders, which allows Palmer to crash the box or run in behind.
Similarly, they can combine close to each other to create shooting angles or play the other in-behind, like a conventional No 9 or No 10. Examples include Palmer’s goals at home against Everton and away at Luton Town.
April's #PL Goal of the Month. 🥶 pic.twitter.com/5rjxJU3rVT
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 23, 2024
“We’re young, but we’re good players. So once we gel, we’ll be alright,” said Palmer last season.
The last two seasons were unstable for Chelsea because of a high volume of players and head coach turnover. There was the ignominy of finishing 12th on 44 points in 2022-23 with Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, Bruno Saltor and Frank Lampard in charge during their worst Premier League campaign.
Having Kai Havertz finish top scorer that season with seven goals emphasised how blunt they were in attack. However, the biggest problem was their lack of relationships.
They made the most starting XI changes (139) and were one of two teams — along with Brentford — to not name an unchanged lineup. Tellingly, of their 38 goals, 26 were assisted and every single one had a unique assister-scorer combination.
The success of Palmer and Jackson’s partnership is simply from playing together more. This applies especially to a possession-based and pressing team which requires structure and understanding.
Chelsea are considerably better when the duo start. Since 2023-24, Palmer and Jackson have started 27 Premier League games, with 15 wins, seven draws and only five losses, outscoring opponents 66-41.
They lose more (seven) than they win (six) without both starting and have been outscored 27-22 in those 16 Premier League games. Interestingly, Chelsea’s possession remains stable regardless of Palmer/Jackson’s presence, but they shoot more and cross less with the pair starting.
With and without statistics are not a perfect science, but Chelsea’s points-per-game (1.9) with Jackson and Palmer in the team from the off is worth 72 points per season, compared to 49 points without (1.3 per game). In each of the last six seasons, 72 points secured a top-four finish.
Any Chelsea attacking partnership will inevitably draw comparisons to Didier Drogba and Lampard, who combined for 36 Premier League goals.
They were so prolific that it was only in February 2022 that Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane and Son Heung-min overtook them. By that point, Lampard had retired, started coaching, managed Chelsea for 84 games and been sacked.
If penalties won are included as assists, then the Palmer/Jackson combination (a league goal every 242 minutes) is more fruitful than Lampard/Drogba were (every 323 minutes).
However, there are caveats. Palmer and Jackson are playing in a Premier League era which is significantly more attacking and where the single-season goals record has been broken two years in a row.
Further, Lampard and Drogba combined for significant goals, including seven times in semi-finals and finals. Their final two combinations were Lampard assists for Drogba in the FA Cup semi-final and final in 2012.
Palmer and Jackson are yet to reach those levels, and sustaining that form is a test. However, they are a more versatile pair.
Lampard primarily assisted Drogba, but for Palmer and Jackson’s 10 Premier League goals, five have been from Palmer to Jackson, and five assists by Jackson for Palmer.
Last season, Palmer either played the final pass or was involved in the build-up of 3.9 shot-ending sequences per game, with 2.3 for Jackson — and those are excluding sequences when they took the shots.
They should benefit from Maresca’s insistence of putting players in set positions (having two for each position), regardless of versatility.
The Chelsea head coach was full of praise for how Jackson and Palmer pressed West Ham’s defence despite being outnumbered two-v-three.
However, Maresca should not compromise their counter-attacking quality for whatever possession system he is dreaming of.
In the past five years, there have only been four instances of a Chelsea player scoring 10-plus goals in a Premier League campaign — two of those were Jackson and Palmer last season.
Chelsea’s recent failures have been underpinned by issues building a coherent style around key players. Maresca needs to make lemonade: let Palmer and Jackson counter-attack.
(Top photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
