Alrick

United – Chelsea stats recap

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A tough draw for Chelsea after having a 3-0 lead, here are some of the key stats from the United – Chelsea match…

Chelsea today against United: 20 shots (8 on target), 80% (274/344) passing, 8 crosses (22 attempted), 7 tackles, 27 interceptions.

It’s interesting to note the defensive styles: United had 21 tackles to Chelsea’s 7, but Chelsea had 28 interceptions to United’s 13. This was likely due to the fact that Chelsea did not have their two top tacklers (Ramires and Romeu) and had traditionally good anticipators of the game in Cahill, Ivanovic and Meireles on the pitch…

Cahill in his Chelsea debut against United: 1 shot, 82% (18/22) passing, 4 interceptions, 1 block, 2 clearances.

Meireles today against United: 3 shots, 89% (47/53) passing, 1 chance created, 2 crosses, 6 interceptions.

Ivanovic today against United: 82% (23/28) passing, 1 chance created, 1 tackle, 5 interceptions, 4 clearances, 4 fouls committed.

Some more player stats…

Torres today against United: 2 shots (both off target), 86% (18/21) passing, 1 assist, 3 chances created.

Mata today against United: 1 goal, 3 shots, 86% (38/44) passing, 3 chances created, 2 crosses, 2 interceptions.

David Luiz today against United: 1 goal, 67% (18/27) passing, 1 tackle, 1 interception, 5 clearances (4 headed).

Malouda today against Chelsea: 3 shots (0 on goal), 78% (28/36) passing, 4 chances created. A case where stats don’t tell it all.

Despite being critical of Torres recently I will say he played better against United and is still one of the better forwards in the game at creating chances for others. Mata and Luiz both had great goals and with Malouda it’s a case where stats don’t tell the whole story as the Chelsea attack slowed to a halt whenever he touched the ball.

Finally I will leave you with this tidbit about Howard Webb as the streak continues…

Chelsea are now winless in 7 matches Howard Webb has officiated against Manchester Clubs (0 wins, 3 draws, 4 losses).

The next Chelsea match will be on February 11th as they travel to Everton.

Alrick

Chelsea – Swansea stats recap

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Chelsea played Swansea yesterday and it was far from a convincing performance, especially in the first half…

Chelsea’s first half against Swansea: 10 shots (3 on target), 86% (160/187) passing, 43.9% possession, 3 successful crosses.

Chelsea have completed only 160 passes in the first half compared to Swansea’s 208.

The side looked flat and lacked any sort of a creative spark – to be quite honest Chelsea were totally outplayed by Swansea. The second half was better, especially when Florent Malouda was subbed out for Romelu Lukaku. I’m saying this not because Lukaku made an impact, but because Malouda simply didn’t…

Malouda today against Swansea: 0 shots, 84% (38/45) passing, 1 chance created, 1 successful cross (7 attempted), 1 tackle, 1 interception.

I’m not one to question the manager’s every decision, but AVB playing Malouda in the middle isn’t working. Chelsea have “scored” just 2 goals in their last 3 matches – a penalty and an own goal. It’s not all Malouda’s fault but in my opinion it’s no coincidence. When Malouda went off, Juan Mata was able to get more involved in the game…

Mata today against Swansea: 2 shots, 88% (42/48) passing, 4 chances created, 4 successful crosses (out of 14).

Chelsea were lucky to get a goal gifted to them at the end of the game to get a vital point from a Swansea team which has impressed this year. I will take 4 out of 6 points from Swansea this season given their current form. Final team stats…

Chelsea today against Swansea: 19 shots (4 on goal), 84% (412/490) passing, 53.7% possession, 10 completed crosses (FOURTY THREE attempted).

Comparing these stats to the first half really emphasizes the difference between the two halves…

Alrick

Chelsea – Norwich Stats Recap

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Many Chelsea fans thought the 0-0 draw against Norwich today was not a great result – while it certainly wasn’t ideal, Norwich has been playing well lately…

Norwich has lost only 1 of their last 9 matches and are 9th in the Premier League. A draw away isn’t as terrible as some fans may think.

The result today spoke more of the effort by Norwich, who played well defensively, and also Chelsea’s continued and consistent lack of finishing off scoring chances…

Norwich get their 1st clean sheet of the season against Chelsea, who have scored only 3 goals in their last 3 PL matches. Not enough goals.

Spurs and Arsenal beat Norwich at their place, Chelsea draw. Today was arguably the best result for Norwich all season.

Chelsea today against Norwich: 20 shots (6 on target), 85% (467/551) passing, 4 successful crosses (out of 39 attempts, yikes), 15 tackles.

This is a match teams “equal” to Chelsea are winning and clearly a team Chelsea should be putting goals in against, yet Chelsea had only 6 shots on target.

However outside of Juan Mata who has been fantastic this season and Frank Lampard (who went off injured in the first half), the rest of the Chelsea attacked continues its up-and-down season…

Mata today against Norwich: 5 shots (led the team), 81% (51/63) passing, 3 chances created, 3 successful crosses (10 attempted), 2 take-ons.

Outside of Mata, Chelsea completed only 1 of TWENTY NINE crosses today. Speaks volumes about the long passing and lack of aggressiveness.

1 for 29 on crosses – it’s simply not good enough. Leading the charge was Jose Bosingwa who continues to not only receive criticism for his defensive work rate but also his offensive contribution…

Bosingwa today against Norwich: 1 shot, 78% (42/54) passing, 2 chances created, 3 take-ons, 0 completed crosses (8 attempted), 4 tackles.

0 for 8 on crosses is not helping his cause. A great comment on Twitter pointed out what I’ve been saying for awhile now, it’s as if teams almost want Bosingwa to have the ball because of his poor decision making and defensive work rate.