FOUR things we've learned about Rosenior's Chelsea

Football writer Adrian Clarke identifies the key players, team tactics and where matches could be won and lost in Matchweek 23.

From a tactical perspective, how do Chelsea look under Liam Rosenior? Adrian Clarke picks out four things we have learned since he replaced Enzo Maresca at Stamford Bridge.

Pressing paying off

Three of the four goals Chelsea scored in Rosenior’s first couple of matches at Stamford Bridge stemmed from high turnovers, and that will delight the 41-year-old.

The new Blues head coach wants his players to be aggressive in their off-the-ball work, and that hostility has reaped some early rewards.

Man-to-man marking has been a theme since he took charge, with various members of Chelsea’s back four asked to follow their man into midfield to apply the kind of pressure he demands.

In the EFL Cup semi-final first leg defeat to Arsenal, their opening goal came from a hostile piece of play from Enzo Fernandez.

The Argentinian was man-marking Martin Odegaard, and he steamed in to make an interception from a loose pass.

From the same challenge, Chelsea won two more 50-50s before feeding Pedro Neto out wide, who crossed for Alejandro Garnacho to score.

Both of Chelsea’s goals in a 2-0 win at home to Brentford last weekend came from their willingness to press.

After initially losing the ball, Fernandez then immediately won the ball back from a swift counter-press as the Blues crowded Michael Kayode on the edge of his own penalty area.

His block helped set up Joao Pedro to score.

Watch Joao Pedro's goal v Brentford

Chelsea’s man-to-man squeeze also helped them win the penalty which sealed that west London derby success.

Pushing on as a collective, Caoimhin Kelleher’s loose touch was pounced upon by Liam Delap, who drew the foul.

Playing in this manner comes with an element of risk, and both Arsenal and Brentford did release runners into space on numerous occasions after playing through Chelsea’s press.

But overall, Rosenior will be thrilled this tactic has already yielded three goals for his side.

No overlapping full-backs

Reece James and Marc Cucurella are two of the most adventurous full-backs in the Premier League, each capable of delivering quality crosses in open play, but Rosenior is not encouraging them to hold their width.

The new Blues boss prefers to let his wingers hug the touchline in space, waiting out wide for passes that set them up for 1v1s.

This has led to both full-backs inverting centrally at once, often either side of defensive midfielder Moises Caicedo in the build-up phase.

In this example below, when Chelsea had pinned Brentford back, James and Cucurella (circled) were high but exceptionally narrow.

This positional set-up (with all 10 Brentford outfielders in shot) was designed to free up Garnacho out wide on the left, who was released in space for a 1v1 against Kayode.

If you compare heat maps from this encounter with the last time James and Cucurella both started as full-backs, against Aston Villa on 27 December, you can see the difference in their roles.

They inverted in both contests, but under the previous head coach they were afforded much more freedom to overlap around the outside, or to drive into the final third.

Rosenior it would appear, prefers them to prop up the wingers from inside, and in deeper positions.

In both home matches Rosenior has overseen, the wingers have enjoyed a lot of room on the flanks, running at opposition full-backs.

This tactic (below), with right-back Josh Acheampong occupying Jurrien Timber infield, created just the kind of 2v1 out wide that Chelsea’s new head coach wants to manufacture.

Freeing up the likes of Estevao, Neto or Garnacho is a key ploy for him.

Brave distribution

Rosenior will ask his players to show bravery in possession, so that they can progress the ball into better areas of the pitch.

In their 3-2 semi-final loss to Arsenal, the Blues did not look comfortable feeding passes into central midfielders from the back, losing the ball several times, but this did improve against Brentford.

Asking his players to execute straight forward passes through crowded areas comes with great risk, as they can easily be intercepted.

Yet when that vertical piece of distribution comes off (see three examples below), it bypasses the midfield to set up highly promising attacks.

In each of these "stills" we see the right winger come in off the side to receive a vertical ball from a defensive player.

Why does Rosenior want this?

Playing through busy central areas, Chelsea can then utilise the space he has freed up out wide - and when they have got this distribution right, they have caused problems.

Playing this way puts the centre-backs under a bit of added pressure.

Here, you see Wesley Fofana’s first-half pass chalkboard v Arsenal, side by side with Tosin’s chalkboard from the Brentford match.

In both cases you can see that they are not making simple passes out wide to full-backs, with almost all their distribution focussed down the middle.

Almost a false nine

Chelsea’s shape is 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-4-1 depending on which way you want to perceive it, but the early signs suggest Rosenior is almost operating with a withdrawn false nine striker.

Joao Pedro (and Delap late on) both came short a great deal to link play.

With their new head coach intent on playing forward passes down the spine – creating central overloads in the process – it is perhaps no surprise to see Chelsea’s centre-forward drop in when they have possession.

Comparing Joao Pedro’s heat map from last Saturday with his final start as a striker under Maresca, you can see a significant difference in the positions he has been asked to take up.

This average position map from the Brentford match (below) also shines a light on where his players are receiving the ball most frequently.

Cole Palmer was a right-sided No 10, with both wingers staying higher up the pitch than their starting striker.

Chelsea's average position map v Brentford

Future opponents may look to target Joao Pedro when he comes short to receive straight passes, just as Brentford did in this example below from the first half.

He controls Fernandez’s pass, but is immediately swarmed upon by three visiting players, who turn the ball over.

From this situation, Kevin Schade wasted a golden opportunity to score.

Work in progress

After four matches in all competitions, Rosenior’s Chelsea are only just beginning to take shape, and further changes will occur as he learns more about the players.

We know the 41-year-old wants to be aggressive, he wants to isolate wingers, and he is willing to take risks.

But he is also a possession-based coach, so it was a huge surprise to see the Blues pushed back, with a lowly 45.8 per cent share at home to Brentford.

Next time out when they take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, Chelsea are almost certain to have a lot more of the ball.