Passing impact at Chelsea

Maurizio Sarri has made a fantastic start in London and is now really starting to get the best out of the squad. His playing philosophy was successful in Italy and led to the rise of Napoli to challenging Juventus for the Serie A title. The fact he brought Jorginho over with him just shows the esteem he holds him in, with his team being led from the middle from the playmaker.

Chelsea currently sit joint top of the Premier league with last season’s runner away winners Manchester City, and the attacking force of Liverpool, just showing how far they have progressed. Punters have now been getting behind them at vip-code.net in which they are now around 7/1 to go on and lift the title. They have completely changed their style of play; in which they are virtually passing themselves into contention for not only a top four spot but the title.

Just look at the current Premier league standings for the most passes made. Chelsea have four players in the top seven which is quite remarkable. This is led by Jorginho on 853. Followed by defenders Antonio Rudiger, David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta, who have all made around 600 passes each. In their victory away at Newcastle, the home side accounted for just 18% of the possession, with Jorginho achieving 15% himself. He made an incredible 158 passes, which is one every 34 seconds on average. This gives another indication of the major impact he has on the pitch.

Most touches in a @premierleague game since 2003-04.

Jorginho - 186 v Newcastle, Aug 26 2018
Fernandinho - 186 v Everton, Mar 31 2018 pic.twitter.com/5cv8Fn4iwk

— Sky Sports Statto (@SkySportsStatto) 26 August 2018

So how has this impacted the Chelsea game? With Jorginho slotting in, it has led to Kante being pushed forward into a more attacking role. To many this was a big surprise, considering he is the best in the business at what he does as shown in the success of the sides he plays in. This includes France winning the World Cup, and Premier league titles at Chelsea and Leicester.

Another key impact that this style of play has enabled is creating more chances for Hazard. He has now pushed himself into question for the world’s best. He led Belgium to their greatest ever world cup finish and has continued in that rich vein of form this season. He currently sits two clear from Aguero on seven goals in the league, which shows the level he is performing at this early stage. If Chelsea can keep him at the club, then there is a serious chance of pushing City all the way and lifting the Premier league trophy again.