Fans have spotted Chelsea's 'Octagon' formation in 2-1 defeat to Southampton
Chelsea played with an 'Octagon' formation in the 2-1 defeat to Southampton on Tuesday night and it's fair to say it didn't quite work.
The Blues went 1-0 at St Mary's through Raheem Sterling, who scored his third goal in two games.
But former Manchester City youngster Romeo Lavia, a £10.5 million summer signing, levelled matters minutes later with a superb strike from the edge of the box.
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Adam Armstrong completed the turnaround for Saints on the stroke of half-time and Ralph Hasenhuttl's side held on for a huge victory the moves them to seventh in the table.
Chelsea, meanwhile, tasted defeat for the second time this term. And a screenshot of their set-up in the 83rd minute might explain just why they fell to a second consecutive away loss.
Chelsea looked like they had an 'Octagon' system going on, with nobody occupying the No.10 position and getting between the lines.
With Chelsea lacking a focal point in attack, Southampton were pretty comfortable and allowed their opponents to have possession without threatening.
Tuchel’s new octagon pattern 🔥🔥 || Chelsea title challengers 22/23?? pic.twitter.com/KY3O3UHn8U
— carlos (@carlosssburner) August 30, 2022
This type of image shows up when the manager is about to be sacked.
— ⚡ (@clinicalmount_) August 30, 2022
Remember the Leicester game before Lampard got the boot? pic.twitter.com/lLfcacllRZ
I may have skipped a few grades but I know my shapes. That Sir, is a coffin, because Chelsea are a dead team😭🧍🏾♀️ https://t.co/cDtOFNDm0v
— h l a w u . l e (@hlaawule) August 31, 2022
The same image was seen by Max Allegri's Juventus recently and the lack of midfield prompted a mountain of reaction:
I may have skipped a few grades but I know my shapes. That Sir, is a coffin, because Chelsea are a dead team😭🧍🏾♀️ https://t.co/cDtOFNDm0v
— h l a w u . l e (@hlaawule) August 31, 2022
Possession without penetration is useless we need a poacher https://t.co/bo41YMGftW
— Trafalgar D.Aniq (@aniqtetsuroo) August 31, 2022
Do we all remember when these sort of things started happening under Frank, and he got blamed for being a manager out of his depth?
— Andy (@RealFalseNine) August 31, 2022
I do. https://t.co/3g5NBdtpQ1
The scores says 2-1, so this shepherd-style formation didn’t work. https://t.co/RHbBRRZEDd
— ThatoTsAndCs (@ThatoTsAndCs) August 31, 2022
Lampard got absolutely ruined for something similar against Leicester if I remember rightly. https://t.co/twcuNZu2oG
— Ayden Thomas (@AydennnT) August 30, 2022
This is what I’ve been saying for a while now. Far too often do we see the players just rush forward in a straight line. There’s no dynamic movement or overloaded in the middle/any sign of patterns of play. Guided discovery does not work with ass attackers old man https://t.co/mL4ERpBqor
— Norman (@NormandeForeman) August 30, 2022
Mount is supposed to be the midfielder here right? And where TF is Jorginho? https://t.co/91Fz6urImz
— Man of Letters. (@Letter_to_Jack) August 30, 2022
This type of image shows up when the manager is about to be sacked.
— JERSEYS & SNEAKERS (@Jibsman1) August 30, 2022
Remember the Leicester game before Lampard got the boot? 😂 https://t.co/Mrsd2G7osy
Chelsea have spent big on a slew of new signings this summer under new owner Todd Boehly and yet still look a bit of a mess.
And Tuchel's post-match comments on the loss were a little damning.
"Obviously we are not tough enough to win these matches away. It’s the same as Leeds away,” Tuchel said in a press conference.
“It is too easy to put us off balance, to beat us, to confuse us. It is too easy. We need to understand why and find solutions.
“We lose concentration, we lose our plan and lose consistency, it is too easy to beat us.”
The two-time Champions League winners will be desperate to get bounce back against West Ham at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Topics: Chelsea, Premier League, Southampton, Thomas Tuchel, Todd Boehly
Josh Lawless