How Chelsea’s clever positioning of Raheem Sterling repeatedly unlocked Liverpool

Raheem Sterling of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC at Stamford Bridge on August 13, 2023 in London, England.

When talking about formations, the difference between one shape or the other could be a couple of metres here or there in terms of positions on the pitch, but the most important question that often goes missing is: which phase of play are we talking about?

Is it the team’s defensive phase or the attacking one? Even inside whichever phase it happens to be, the shape could differ — from the formation as a team are building up to when they are full-on attacking in the final third, for example. But that’s for another time.

Hybrid formations have been here for a while and with Liverpool alternating between a 4-3-3 and a 3-2-4-1 depending on whether they had the ball or not, Mauricio Pochettino decided to go hybrid as well when his Chelsea entertained them on Sunday.

On paper pre-game, Chelsea’s shape at Stamford Bridge yesterday seemed more like a back three and it turned out to be just that when they had the ball. However, when they were out of possession, Ben Chilwell drifted inside to help defend against Liverpool’s box midfield.

“It’s two different phases that we tried today,” said Pochettino after his competitive debut as Chelsea coach. “When we didn’t have the ball, it’s back four — Chilly (Chilwell) going inside because Trent (Alexander-Arnold) was always doing like a midfielder.”

As mentioned, it was the predicted back three when Pochettino’s side were on the ball.

“In possession to play with three building from back, two midfielders and then Reece (James) and Chilly, then use in the pockets with Raheem (Sterling) and Carney (Chukwuemeka), and in front, (Nicolas) Jackson,” Pochettino said.

The most effective of those roles against Liverpool was Sterling’s position in the right half-space.

Placing himself behind Liverpool’s midfield three, Sterling constantly left Andy Robertson with a dilemma: pushing towards Sterling would free James, but focusing on James would allow Sterling to operate between the lines. Added to that, Chelsea made sure to find either Sterling or James directly to deny Liverpool’s midfielders the time to shift across…

… which often left Robertson in a two-on-one situation.

The other thing that aided Chelsea’s right side was Enzo Fernandez’s advanced positioning at times.

In this example, Thiago Silva goes direct towards James wide on the right, with Sterling in his designated position in the half-space behind Liverpool’s midfield. The pass forces Robertson to react…

… which creates a space that Sterling can attack, with Fernandez’s advanced position simultaneously forcing centre-back Virgil van Dijk (on the red dot below) to think twice before totally committing to moving out to cover the space behind Robertson.

This allows Sterling time on the ball.

A minute later, we get the reverse scenario. Axel Disasi plays a ball to Fernandez…

… which triggers Robertson to make the move towards James, knowing Sterling is being marked by Van Dijk. However, Fernandez passes to Sterling instead of going wide towards James…

… and with Van Dijk higher up the field than usual because of his marking duties, he can find Fernandez’s forward run in behind the Dutchman.

Fortunately for Liverpool, the Argentinian’s shot is blocked by Ibrahima Konate.

The key to Chelsea’s success down the right was going direct into James or Sterling, with the former Liverpool man positioning himself in between the lines in the right half-space — away from Van Dijk and behind the visitors’ midfield.

In this next example, Levi Colwill plays a ball into James, with Sterling in the perfect position…

… which allows him time on the ball because of the spacing between himself and Van Dijk once James finds him in between the lines.

Sterling then completes the one-two pass with his overlapping wing-back…

… putting James in a position to deliver a cross into the path of Jackson…

… although Chelsea’s new centre-forward barely touches it.

In another example, it’s the same approach — James out wide and Sterling behind the Liverpool midfield in the right half-space.

Fernandez finds James with a ball over the Liverpool players…

… and once Robertson moves wide to face him, he passes infield to Sterling, whose earlier positioning is keeping him away from Van Dijk:

Again, Sterling returns the one-two behind Liverpool’s left-back…

… which puts James in a similar crossing situation to the example before this.

This time, Jackson’s shot goes over the crossbar.

It was playing down Chelsea’s right that, indirectly, led to their only goal of the game, as the corner through which they equalised came from James finding a Sterling run in behind Robertson.

Once more, Sterling positions himself where he has been all through the first half — behind Cody Gakpo in the right half-space — and attacks the space behind Robertson…

… before dribbling inside and playing a pass across goal that gets put behind for a corner by Alexander-Arnold.

In the second half, Chelsea had more opportunities to utilise the Sterling/James combo down their right, but the execution wasn’t as efficient as it had been earlier in the game.

Looking back on the match as a whole, Chelsea had some defensive problems when Liverpool were in attacking transitions, especially when Colwill was isolated against Mohamed Salah early on. Yet the team’s improvement on the ball yesterday is something for their fans to look forward to in the season ahead.

“Maybe I am talking too much about tactics,” said Pochettino after the game.

Perhaps that’s just what Chelsea needed