Every game this season our game plan has been:
- Get the ball to the wings
- Cross

Some people were excited because of the way we got the ball to the wings. Bunch of rotations between the FB, CM and winger. They were impressive rotations for Lampard standards (very low) #CFC

Most teams want you to attack from the wings which is why they defend narrow. So all this really wasn't necessary to progress the ball down the wings especially when youre gonna end it with something as simple as a cross.

This has been our gameplan every game but I picked out a few examples to prove it to you. 0 progression down the middle and very few entries into the box from the center despite dominating games

vs Newcastle, 32 passes inside zone 14 and only 3 into the box.

vs Spurs, 37 passes in zone 14 and only 1 inside the box

Arsenal who were heavily criticized for their game vs Spurs actually had the same approach of creating from the wings via crosses except they made more entries through zone 14 than Chelsea.

It's come to a point where even when there's a good opening from the center of the pitch, players prefer to pass it to the wing only to cross it in.

Mount receives the ball in the center with tons of space and passes it to Werner who makes an unsuccessful cross. All that progression only to create a low quality chance.

Yes, crosses are actually very low quality chances. Only 1 out of 64 crosses ends up as a goal https://twitter.com/oh_that_crab/status/1336341458308136965?s=20

"But we're winning, so it's obviously working"

It worked for a couple games until teams begin to adapt to our game. First Spurs focused personnel on defending the wings. Now Everton who left space in the middle to defend the wings while playing effectively on the counter

Inter vs Shakhtar. Conte just hit the ball down the wings and put in as many crosses as he could. Game ended 0-0 and Conte's excuse was that Shakhtar had adapted to Inter's game since the 5-0 loss last season. https://twitter.com/sidspina/status/1337187401001824256?s=20

There were 2 different games that I really liked this season. The first game was vs Sevilla where they tried to defend the flanks but we had Jorginho, CHO, Pulisic, Kovacic, Giroud who all thrive between the lines and played through the center well.

The 2nd game was vs Leeds where our pressing was insane but both games seemed to be anomalies since I never saw us reach those levels of play. This game was also an Ancelotti masterclass who adapted well. Lampard's strategy won't be successful in the long run