Tag: Hakim Ziyech

How Potter can save Chelsea’s season – Tactical Analysis

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coach Education, Managers, Masterclasses, Premier League, Team Analysis

Since suffering defeat to his old club at the end of October, Graham Potter's Chelsea have lost seven of their last eleven matches. Injuries have evidently played a part, but Potter's problems persist even despite a wealthy eleven still at his disposal. The balance of the team remains up in shambles, even despite a recent redemption victory against Crystal Palace. With that, we examine what's wrong with Potter's Chelsea from a tactical perspective, and how the former Brighton man can turn his fortunes around.

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Explaining the Inverted Winger – Player Role Analysis

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Attacking Midfield, Data Analysis, Masterclasses, Player Analysis, Player Education, Recruitment & Scouting, Winger

Unlike their name might imply, 'Inverted Wingers' are far more than just wingers that cut or drift inside. That is only one small part of an overarching role that prioritizes playmaking in the final third, and dynamically linking play between the other members of the front-line. The best of the art will often post high numbers in goals and assists, but 'Inverted Wingers' need to be so much more than just creative goal-scorers - generally tasked with creating space, rotating with teammates, and moving off the ball to exploit the half-spaces at the right moments.

Erik Ten Hag – Ajax – Tactical Analysis

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Subscriber Exclusives, UEFA Champions League, World Football

Since taking over for Marcel Keizer in December 2017, Erik Ten Hag has been a revelation at AFC Ajax. In fact, it would have been difficult for anyone to do a better job. The Dutch manager scraped Ajax back into the title race in his first season in charge, only missing out by four points, and since then has won the Eredivisie, gotten his team to the UEFA Champions League semi-final and now looks set to win the league all over again. That has all culminated in an outrageous 74% of his matches won since the tail-end of 2017. This season they're up to 81% of their matches won, sitting eleven points clear at the top of the league. So with their fantastic performances and intriguing tactics along the way, here is RDF's Tactical Analysis of Erik Ten Hag's Ajax in 2020-21.

Chelsea 2-5 West Bromwich Albion – Tactical Analysis

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Match Analysis, Premier League

TheMastermindSite covered Thomas Tuchel's first win and first draw at Chelsea, so it's only fitting we also cover their first loss under the German manager as well. Chelsea were absolutely atrocious on Saturday, red card aside, and West Brom had their best game in the Premier League in several years. This all culminated in a stunning 5-2 win, with West Brom in full flow and suddenly with a false sense of hope about their survival chances for the rest of the season. Chelsea meanwhile had their dreams of third place dashed before their eyes, as they will likely now need to scrap to the finish line to now scrape into fourth. Here is a Tactical Analysis of West Brom's big win over the Blues at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea 0-0 Wolves – Tactical Analysis – Tuchel’s 3-2-5

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coaching, Managers, Match Analysis, Premier League, Team Analysis, World Football

In terms of goal-scoring, Thomas Tuchel's first game in charge of Chelsea might not have gone as planned. But his team still put up a magnificent, tactically intriguing performance, and much promise for the future certainly remains. Given that he had only one day in charge of the Blues before this match, Tuchel certainly managed to get his point across regarding the tactical innovations that he wanted to implement in this match and the players seemed to follow his instructions incredibly well. The German manager changed Lampard's team more than expected, and even implemented a highly intriguing 3-2-5 attacking shape. Let's get right into this tactical analysis of Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea in their 0-0 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Frank Lampard – Chelsea – Tactical Analysis (Post-Sacking)

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coaching, Managers, Premier League, Team Analysis, World Football

Frank Lampard enjoyed a successful first season with Chelsea F.C., despite no new summer signings coming through the door. The Blues hovered around 4th for the majority of the season in behind Leicester City, and eventually secured 4th behind Manchester United. Lampard relied heavily on young talent in 2019-20 and the club were rewarded with fantastic performances from the likes of Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Reece James. In preparation for the 2020-21 season, Chelsea then went on to spend millions, securing the signatures of players like Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell and Edouard Mendy, plus Thiago Silva on a free. For a short period of time, it worked. With nine games in, Chelsea were showing great signs of promise, sat second in the table, and were well in the hunt for a Premier League title chase. Frank Lampard himself was making some astute tactical changes, and appeared to be coping well with the dilemma of how to show faith in his youth, while integrating all the new signings. But as the season wore on, Chelsea failed to make an impact. At the time of his sacking, the Blues sit in ninth, with many nearby teams holding games in hand. Losses to Leicester, Manchester City and Arsenal likely handed Lampard a premature managerial sacking; along with the fact that Thomas Tuchel was out of a job, waiting at the door-step for a call. So a day after a 3-1 FA Cup win against Luton Town, Frank Lampard was sacked as manager. Here is our Tactical Analysis of Frank Lampard's Chelsea in both of his seasons in charge, and an accompanying analysis of where he might land next. 

Why Thomas Tuchel is the Perfect Fit for Chelsea – Tactical Analysis

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Formations, Managers, Premier League, UEFA Champions League, World Football

Today, relatively out of the blue, Frank Lampard was sacked by Roman Abramovich at Chelsea. Yesterday, without knowing this information, we analyzed why Thomas Tuchel would be the perfect man to take over if Chelsea were to sack their former club legend. This article will take a greater look at why the Blues should seriously consider the German as their next manager. Here is Part Three of our Thomas Tuchel Tactical Analysis series.

Top 100 Male Footballers of 2020 (80-61)

by Rhys Desmond, posted in German Bundesliga, Premier League, Serie A, UEFA Champions League, World Football

2020 was a strange year for everyone in the world, not just footballers. But the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that we haven’t gotten as much football as we might have done otherwise. That said, there were still plenty of matches played across the year, and some surprise performers and performances along the way. As always, TheMastermindSite.com will now count down the top 100 male footballers in the world for the year. This list takes into account a player’s form in 2020 as its primary mechanism, with reputation, difficulty of league, club and national team success each playing a secondary role. So with that in mind, here is TheMastermindSite’s Top 100 Male Footballers in the World for 2020 (80-61).

Frank Lampard – Chelsea – Tactical Analysis (2020-21 Edition)

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coaching, Managers, Premier League, Team Analysis, World Football

Frank Lampard enjoyed a successful first season with Chelsea F.C., despite no new summer signings coming through the door. The Blues hovered around 4th for the majority of the season in behind Leicester City, and eventually secured 4th behind Manchester United. Lampard relied heavily on young talent in 2019-20 and the club were rewarded with fantastic performances from the likes of Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Reece James. However, this past summer, Chelsea spent millions to secure the signatures of some of the best players around the world. It has taken a bit of time for some of their new signings to gel together, but nine games in, Chelsea are showing great signs of promise as they currently sit 2nd in the table. Along the way, Frank Lampard has made some low-key, subtle changes that have helped to propel Chelsea back toward the top of the table. Here is our Tactical Analysis of Frank Lampard's Chelsea after nine games in the 2020-21 Premier League season.

Frank Lampard – Chelsea – Tactical Analysis (Pre-Season 2020-21)

by Rhys Desmond, posted in Coaching, Managers, Premier League, World Football

Frank Lampard enjoyed a successful first season with Chelsea F.C., despite no new summer signings coming through the door. The Blues hovered around 4th for the majority of the season in behind Leicester City, and eventually secured 4th behind Manchester United. Lampard relied heavily on young talent in 2019-20 and the club were rewarded with fantastic performances from the likes of Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and Reece James. However, although all of those players have potential, they might not be at the level of Premier League champions just yet. Lampard and those above his authority recognized that and responded with several new signings of the highest quality. In fact, very few other clubs have (on paper) done better summer transfer window business...ever. Despite the promise all their new signings have, it remains to be seen how they will all come together and whether or not it's worth it to bench some of the young players that secured their Champions League finish last year, for a heap of new players that have never played together before. So with that, here is a Tactical Analysis of Frank Lampard's Chelsea heading into the 2020-21 season.

Top 100 Male Footballers 2019 (70-61)

by Rhys Desmond, posted in German Bundesliga, Premier League, Serie A, UEFA Champions League, World Football

It’s almost the end of the year, so it’s only fitting that we count down the top 100 footballers of 2019. Check out the next section of the list (70-61) below.