Chelsea must embrace who they are to beat Real Madrid
At the time of writing, Chelsea are due to meet Real Madrid in the second leg of the 2022 Champions League Quarter-final.
They head to Spain’s capital having to overturn a 3–1 deficit. But they take the trip with spirits boosted after a return to normal service at Saint Mary’s Stadium. A resilient, dogged, and conscientious effort saw Chelsea run out 6–0 winners.
That 6–0 win did more than enough to repair the 4 goal shaped dents Brentford left at Stamford Bridge. Brentford scored all 4 goals in one half. And then Madrid scored another 3 in 46 minutes the following Wednesday. Southampton could have been a dangerous banana skin for Thomas Tuchel and the team.
So they do head to the Santiago Bernabéu with a daunting task. But they head there with a much-needed boost in confidence and a key to what makes Chelsea a special team. As identified by Tuchel himself.
In a post-match interview with Chelsea TV, Thomas Tuchel made one of his usual sharp remarks. One that some might dismiss or not pick up on. But it revealed a lot.
When the work rate of the players’ performance was highlighted to Tuchel, he remarked:
Only this makes us special. We are not a fancy team that solves things by pure talent and there’s nothing to be ashamed of, it’s just the reality. And once we work hard and have that commitment and work strong[ly] as a group, then we can be a special group. [Today] the foundation was right, the attitude was right [and] the commitment was right, and then you can see our quality.
Tuchel understands that work rate and application make Chelsea a special team. That they are not a fancy team. He understands Chelsea cannot turn up at 80 or 90 per cent and play teams off the park.
Is his understanding correct? A look back at Chelsea’s history would suggest that he is absolutely right.
What does Chelsea’s history say about their identity? In the modern era — Chelsea have been the unwelcome party at the table of Europe’s elite. To them, Chelsea didn’t have the historied pasts of Real Madrid, Barcelona, or Liverpool. Or at least, they weren’t deemed to. They didn’t have the brand and reputation of an Arsenal, a Manchester United, or a Bayern Munich.
Chelsea has been home to some class players. Some of the Premier League’s greatest. But they’ve never had a Cristiano Ronaldo, or a Thierry Henry. Naturally gifted phenoms with the flash and elegance to capture a nation.
They instead have John Terry. Frank Lampard. Petr Cech. Didier Drogba. César Azpilicueta. Michael Essien. N’golo Kanté. They are all gifted in their own right. They might be less pretty to gaze at. But you won’t outwork them.
If you run for 89 minutes, this lot will run for 90. Players who’ll chase down every ball. A goalkeeper who’ll study every penalty kick of each opponent going back a few years. Players that are just that tiny bit stronger than you. Players that commit a little bit more to the 50/50. A core that’ll stand back up and go again after every challenge. A group that plays with a chip on their shoulder. They’ve got a bone to pick. They’ll leave everything on the pitch.
Among the big boys of world football, Chelsea have always been the underdogs. They’re unwanted. And Chelsea carry it as part of their armour. It justifies the chip on their shoulder. The club’s greatest achievement to date exemplifies this to a tee.
A Champions League win against all the odds, and when they were not supposed to win. Chelsea should not have overturned a 3–1 deficit to Napoli. But they did. They had no right holding Barcelona to a draw at Camp Nou down to 10 players. And they did.
They were never supposed to beat the heavily favoured Bayern Munich. At Bayern’s stadium. Not with a half-fit, makeshift defence. Not after going 1–0 down with 9 minutes to go. It was not supposed to happen. But it did. It happened not because they were more talented than Bayern. Or because they played a “fancier, prettier” game. They dug in deeper than Bayern did. They believed a little more. The players worked at full capacity. They gave every shot, every pass, every tackle, and every interception 100%.
When Europe’s elite don’t count you as one of them, you operate at your highest level 100% of the time. To prove them wrong. And to stay amongst them. Being that difficult, dogged team put them in this position. Why should Chelsea let go of that?
It is what makes them a group that “no one wants to play against”. That’s what Tuchel wanted the identity of the team to be upon his arrival. It’s not about a style of play or a tactical strategy at all. It’s about the application. The commitment. Being combative in every aspect of the game. That’s who Chelsea are.
They don’t have the fanciest players or the prettiest style of play.
But they do have a chip on the shoulder. The rest of Europe’s elite can’t manufacture that. Chelsea are perennial dark horses. Never favourites. Always disparaged but never credited.
And so Chelsea fare better as underdogs. They become the “try-hards” because they won’t get respect any other way. It’s what makes Chelsea the most hated.
So long as they remember how they are, it will put them over the line against Madrid.
