One of the most surprising Premier League seasons for many years reaches Christmas with various strike partnerships creating major talking points and Chelsea’s dismal start put under the microscope. Whilst many pundits agree that Leicester’s title hopes are still distant, statistics would tend to suggest that the team top at Christmas is usually still challenging by May.
Watford are another team to have exceeded expectations and they sit seventh in the league following on the back of four straight wins after beating Liverpool 3-0 at home. Meanwhile Chelsea sit 15th at Christmas after winning the league by eight points and Jose Mourinho has lost his job as a result. Manchester United’s Louis van Gaal is under increasing pressure to provide Red Devils fans with something worth watching but hangs on to fifth as it stands.
At the heart of these pretty remarkable stories are strike partnerships and in specific cases, the absence of combinations that were so successful a year before. The Premier League has been a successful hunting ground in the past for the likes of Chris Sutton and Alan Shearer at Blackburn and Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke at Manchester United. These two old school ‘two-up-front’ combinations were lethal in their day, with more modern day partnerships reflective of the success that Thierry Henry had at Arsenal with Dennis Bergkamp playing just behind the main striker.
Last year’s campaign was dominated by Chelsea. The London outfit finished eight points clear and denied the chasing pack to produce the kind of comeback that Manchester City made in 2011-12. Eden Hazard was named PFA Player of the Year and the Belgian midfielder served up a series of dazzling displays that shredded opposition defences to pieces. He combined with Diego Costa brilliantly; the two scored 34 goals between them. He was also part of a creative midfield trio, along with Cesc Fabregas and Oscar, that made 35 assists between them. Chelsea’s attacking verve was more than matched by runners-up City, who outscored the champions by ten goals in a season where Sergio Aguero and David Silva combined to net 38 times and contribute 15 assists between them.
Roll forward a year. Aguero’s injury problems have meant that City have benefited from only seven assists and eight goals between their key strike partnership thus far this season. The acquisition of Kevin de Bruyne had an immediate impact and Yaya Toure has continued to chip in with both goals and assists. However, City have only scored 33 times this term, compared with the 36 they had managed by this time last year. The loss of key players in Aguero and Vincent Kompany through injury has affected their rhythm and confidence, especially at the back, but City have managed stay in the hunt and will continue to believe that the title is again in reach, despite losing to Arsenal on the 21st December.
The situation further afield at Stamford Bridge is far worse and the statistics are revealing. Not only have Hazard and Costa managed only three goals between them so far this year, but no other Chelsea player has scored more than that either. Only eight sides have scored fewer goals in total this year and five of those sides are below them in the table. Jose Mourinho has failed to repeat the formula that was so successful last season and the champions have very rarely looked like title winners.
Diego Costa has looked distinctly average, starved of an effective supply line, and Hazard has been a shadow of his previous form. Look much deeper than this though and there are issues all over the pitch that have affected Chelsea’s ability to be a potent attacking threat. The solidarity of a back four with John Terry at its heart has been ripped apart. With Terry dropped to the bench by Mourinho early in the campaign, Ivanovic and Azpilicueta have not shown the same attacking instinct due to the weaknesses of their own defence. Given fewer options around them and less space available without opposition full backs committed, Chelsea have looked aimless at times and Cesc Fabregas in particular has been forced into a number of uncharacteristic errors.
Frustrated at the lack of energy and commitment, not to mention cutting edge, Jose tended to take things out in press conferences with barely veiled slights on his own players after choosing to attack referee’s and decisions. For a team with the quality that Chelsea possess, to be in the situation that they are in and for such an extended period too, there was clearly discord between the manager and the players and Mourinho eventually paid the price for that.
At Manchester United the situation is bad but not as desperate. This is due entirely to an impressive defensive record and they remain in contention on the back of the second best record in the league thus far. However, Louis van Gaal is coming under increasing pressure to transform a team that has been woeful in attack and have only managed one more goal than Chelsea—Juan Mata and Anthony Martial combining to net eight times between them. Rooney has mirrored Hazard’s negligible impact but has also suffered from being played in a variety of positions by van Gaal to try and maximise his team’s effectiveness.
A lack of creativity in midfield has been a glaring issue for a couple of seasons now and United’s transfer activity has to improve in this area to sort things out. A lack of width and a lack of pace has stifled the team as an attacking threat and the use of Marouane Fellaini as an out and out forward at times reflects a lack of belief in their ability to get in behind teams.
The reality is that both Chelsea and United face similar problems at the moment when going forward—Guus Hiddink, the new Chelsea boss, will have the chance to start afresh in January; how long van Gaal has to turn things around in this department may depend on his business in the transfer window.
While Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United are all struggling to reach the attacking threat of recent years, the space they have vacated in this area has been filled with new strike combinations that have breathed fresh interest into the Premier League.
Top of the pile is the Leicester duo of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez who have already assisted or scored a combined 38 goals. Bought for the princely sum of £1.35 million, the pair have been a revelation and propelled Leicester deservedly to the dizzy heights. Playing with verve and pace, opposition teams have simply not been able to deal with the duo, and the two goals they scored in the win over Chelsea highlighted the wave of confidence that the club is riding at the moment.
Credit must be given to Claudio Ranieri for adopting tactics that firstly suit the players at his disposal, but also sticking to those principles in the face of bigger opposition. The pace of Albrighton and Mahrez has meant that Leicester are devastating on the counter attack and Vardy, high on confidence, has rarely failed to deliver.
Perhaps this shouldn’t have come as a surprise. In their last nine league fixtures last season, the Foxes picked up 22 points from a possible 27. The only points they dropped were in a loss to the champions themselves and a draw with fellow relegation avoiders Sunderland. In that period they demonstrated their ability to score goals and keep opposition teams at bay and Ranieri has managed to continue that form into the new season.
While the defence has not been as solid, the attacking threat at the other end has often been more than enough. This is not quick, long ball straight up to the striker; this is fast interchanges through midfield, getting the ball wide and exposing defenders one on one through Albrighton and Mahrez. It’s a lethal strategy on the counter and one which his players are delivering extremely effectively.
Significantly, Ranieri has managed to field the core of his team repeatedly, thus enhancing confidence and understanding within the team itself. Seven of the first team squad have started at least 15 of the 17 fixtures played so far and the fluency of Mahrez and Vardy was highlighted by Vardy’s first goal against Chelsea. Dashing into space at the near post, the striker was found by a beautifully chipped ball from Mahrez and finished with a clinical first time volley into the roof of the net. In contrast only two of Chelsea’s squad have started that many games and Mourinho has really struggled to reignite his combinations.
Watford’s great form this season has been courtesy of another strike partnership making headlines. Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo have helped their side to four wins in a row and have scored and assisted 23 goals between them. A combination more akin to the early 2000’s in style, they’ve been massively effective and are a key reason for the team’s early success.
Everton have Romelu Lukaku benefitting from a wealth of opportunities courtesy of the creativity of Gerard Deulofeu and Ross Barkley while Arsenal are the closest challengers to Leicester with Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott and Alexis, all of whom have made partnerships with each other in different combinations, scoring 19 goals while Mezut Özil pulls the creative strings behind them, contributing 15 assists on his own so far.
While the statistics on their own do not tell the whole story they clearly point to the reason as to why the big three are struggling in a year when the underdog is challenging the status quo. Arsenal appear to be the best hope for the title from the ‘top four’ and their success this year is characterised by the ingredients for attacking potency that Leicester have in abundance. There is nothing new in this approach but pace and trickery underscores the constant threat from Vardy and Mahrez, Ighalo and Deeney, Deulofeu and Lukaku, and Giroud and Özil.
Chelsea and Manchester City were irresistible at times last year, but with unrest and injuries hitting both camps they have been unable to repeat the form of 2014/15. And with those issues, confidence and understanding has bled right across the pitch. Consequently, a lack of pace, a lack of commitment to getting forward and a lack of confidence and belief in picking out the right ball at the right time is seriously hindering them.
Therein lies the excitement of this season. Whilst the script may remain the same, it’s a different cast of entertainers providing the merriment. Whether Leicester will hang on to win the league is another thing entirely but, in the meantime, the attacking quality which is on display from some of the newer faces in the Premier League is a sight to behold.
