Chelsea vs Rennes Tactical Analysis:
- How Rennes managed to trouble our 4-3-3
- Kante's positional dilemma: DM or CM?
- Thiago Silva's unique mindset and more.

Disclaimer: Use of this footage is for educational purposes only. All copyrights belong to Premier League/Chelsea FC.

Last time, I broke down key features of our 4-3-3 and why it is effective. A key part is that even when teams defend against us in a 4-4-2, our 2-3-5 transition allows us to have 5 attackers vs a back 4. So to nullify our attack, the opp. team needs to figure how to balance this.

Rennes manager Julien Stephan is one of the most exciting young managers around. He devised a way to prevent the 5v4. Rennes played a fluid 4-1-4-1 in the def. phase, however Nzonzi's (DM) position changes it to 4-5-1/5-4-1. Here you can see 4-1-4-1, 4-5-1 and 5-4-1.

Going 5 atb made them better vs our 5 attackers. Once the ball was won, their aim was to counter. If the counter broke down, "reset" to build patiently. Here the counter fizzles out, so Nzonzi (DM) drops between the CBs to make it 3 atb vs our 2 (we play 4-4-2 in def.)

Nzonzi is also great at orchestrating play in midfield. Here, we struggle to open up the final defensive line of 5; Mount tries a ball over the top and Rennes counter. Nzonzi leads the charge, passes and then runs right to pull Chilwell and Silva away, making a yard for a cross.

A 5v5 against an attack like ours however, still presents considerable problems. Here you can see Mount dropping deep in our 2-3 shape, which allows Reece to move high (Chilwell is deeper, allowing us to go 3 atb). Ziyech moves in from RW and plays Reece in for a crossing chance.

Rennes are smart in attack too. Here, we try to apply a press, but they quickly switch play with a diagonal to space. This is the ideal blueprint to hurt us – switch play, use very quick interchanges and make Jorginho defend.

Reece is becoming better, but his weakest attribute remains his positioning. Rennes' LW pulls him out wide, and Dalbert plays a quick 1-2 to attack James' space. Ziyech is forced to sprint back, taking a yellow. Reece has been left exposed like this in past matches too.

Here is Reece in a similar situation vs United. Luckily we were playing 3 atb, as Lamps recognised United's wingers would try to drag Reece wide and make Bruno play them in. In a back two, Reece has to be a lot more alert. This will improve with time. https://twitter.com/CFCCentral1/status/1320994599976878080?s=09

Rennes also tried this on the other flank with Chilwell, with Traore charging through lines and trying to exploit space. Unlike Ziyech, Werner did not drop from LW to help out here, and had Chilwell's positioning not been right, Traore would have had a chance to cross unmarked.

Isolating Jorginho has worked for many high intensity teams, using players who are agile. Here, when the first pass comes in, Jorginho has left too much space for Lea-Siliki. He then rushes, already deciding which side to block, but gets spun with ease and concedes a long ball.

Usually Jorginho's passing redeems any lack of defensive steel, but in this game he fails at both. 85% pass accuracy, 0/2 aerial duels won, 2/5 ground duels won, possession lost 15 times. Had a rough night.

What is so encouraging to see is our fluidity in attack. Watch the interplay here, and the positions of the players. Ziyech drops deep at almost LWB. Chilwell is at #8 and Mount has moved to LW. The quick switch to the right makes Rennes panic and we get our first goal.

From open play however, we keep finding it tough. Rennes are organized and with this 5 atb, and look how close their lines are. This reduces the red zone/#10 space, forcing Mount to drop deep and Timo wider. The best way behind the defence is over the top.

In games like these, going over the top helps. Silva switches play; when Ziyech looks up from this position, he almost always goes for the far post. Tammy does well by pulling both CBs away with him, giving Chilwell a 1v1 at the back post, but the pass is overhit.

Rennes had been well organized, but when they lose focus, they concede again. Notice how the gap between their two lines widens a little, and Mount intelligently moves in to disrupt their lines. Not an open play goal, but goes to show how important minimizing the red zone is.

After the red card, you can see Rennes struggling to organise their lines. In an attack immediately after the second goal, Werner stretches play and Mount again drops between the lines. From this position, Mount can run at their defence line or pick a dangerous pass.

With a man down, Rennes can no longer switch to 4-5-1 or 5-4-1 and must now hold a static 4-4-1. Also notice how Timo is now dropping into the gap while Abraham looks to run off the shoulder. Abraham's tendency pushes the defence line higher up and gives Werner space.

Having two such different forwards up front offers its own advantages. Here, Rennes get stretched and James passes the ball halfway across the ground to the center. Before Renne can adjust their gap, Tammy has already found his run and Jorginho picks a delightful pass jn the gap

Playing off the shoulder is what gets us our 3rd. Again, stretching play wide and being a man up helps, as Rennes fail to close down Reece. Notice how Tammy starts from an offside position, and then chooses his moment perfectly. This is the reason he's caught offside so often.

There arent many forwards like Tammy, who are 6'3, can move this quickly and are skillful with their feet. Here, his hold up play draws 3 players, leaving Werner in acres of space. If we weren't 3 nil up, James might/should have crossed

There are signs that Timo is slowly picking up patterns of our other attacking players. With Abraham up front, Timo drops into the #10 zone and plays Mount in, despite Rennes having all 10 men camping the box. The more fluid this understanding gets, the more goals for everyone.

Watch Werner throughout this spell of possession. He drops into the free #10 space as Tammy keeps pushing higher, taking the defence line deeper with him. Timo even makes a clever run in between, but the pass doesn't come, so he resets to number 10 again, looking to cause trouble

This time, Timo drops even deeper, reaching the CM position. As soon as he collects the ball in space, he is free to break lines and run at Rennes' final line. He tries to play a 1-2 with Giroud and it doesn't come off, but this is another plus of playing a 4-3-3 with no #10.

Let us talk about Ngolo Kante. Against Burnley, he played DM, and here he played as the deeper of the 8's (CM). What is the primary difference? At DM, Ngolo has to wait and hope that an attack comes to him. At CM, he goes to the attack to kill it. At the latter, he is world class

Here are his heat maps versus Burnley and Rennes. In the former, you can see he is static in a deeper zone. Against Rennes, his heat map is more evenly distributed, meaning he is constantly on the move, and using his instincts and intelligence to sniff out danger.

When he is free to roam, he is outstanding. Vs Rennes he was breaking counters before they even began. A lot of coaches (including Peo) insist that the first five seconds of losing the ball are crucial. The counter has to be killed in this time frame as much as possible.

Kante at 8 is definitely a strong option, and provides far more balance than Mount and Kai at 8, who are both superb at attacking. Playing Kai/Mount + Kante as two 8's could help add excellent steel against sides like Liverpool or City, where winning the ball high is crucial.

Now, to Thiago Silva. Why is he so good? A vital factor is his ability to mark players tightly with brutal efficiency. With a lightning quick CB like Zouma behind him, Silva is free to venture high, stifling the out ball. Here, he's on the halfway line to suffocate Guirassy.

His game reading is outstanding too, which makes his positioning almost impeccable. Here, Zouma charges forward here to Guirassy, and a quick pass takes Zouma out. However, Silva reads this and immediately intercepts the ball in space. Christensen is pretty good at this too.

To be a world class centerback, tackling, strength and aggression are important qualities too. In this counter alone he tackles, then uses his strength to shrug off the attacker and tackles again. Relentless and never wants to give up the ball.

His long balls are quite phenomenal as well. There was stunner of a pass to Reece that's been doing the rounds, but this was quite spectacular in its own right, allowing Ziyech to pick his diagonal.

Here's the one for Reece because it was just too good to leave out.

Everyone speaks of his organizing the defence and here's visual proof. As Rennes counter, Reece is dragged inside, out of position. As soon as the counter slows, Zouma and Thiago both telling Reece to go back to position at RB. Zouma's definitely more vocal this season.

In essence, the Rennes game provided a much needed challenge to our 4-3-3 and asked us difficult questions. Before the red (and even after) Rennes showed that quick passing and doubling up on the channels can pay dividends against us. Passing into space is also rewarding.

Having 2v2 on our wings, and passing in behind could allow very quick players to carve out chances like these. This makes the 3 atb vs United feel like a well thought out move by Lampard, who recognized we would need extra protection to prevent this.

Things to think about for Lamps –
- Kante as one of the 8's vs stronger sides, to provide more balance next to Kai/Mount.
- Tammy and Timo complementing each other's skillsets.
- Finding more ways to score vs a back 5.
- Avoid being caught out on the wings on counters.

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