Analysis: Wolfsburg 4–0 Chelsea

Game Context

• Wolfsburg hosted Chelsea in the final round of fixtures in UEFA Women’s Champions League Group A. Chelsea went into the game top of the group, with 11 points. Wolfsburg were third, tied on 8 points with Juventus. Only two teams could progress to the quarter-finals.
• Juventus were highly likely to beat Servette at home and seal progress. Chelsea knew a win or a draw would seal their progress as group winners. A Wolfsburg win would mean all three teams finished on 11 points and it went to goal difference in their head-to-head matches.
• Essentially, Wolfsburg knew they needed to win by more than one goal, and Chelsea knew anything other than a heavy defeat would send them through.

Starting Lineups

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes has chopped and changed formations this season, but decided on a 4–2–3–1 / 4–4–2 here. Zecira Musovic replaced first-choice goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who tested positive for Covid-19 and couldn’t play. The back four was the same for the FA Cup final win over Arsenal: Erin Cuthbert, Millie Bright, Jess Carter and Magdalena Eriksson.

Melanie Leupolz partnered Sophie Ingle in midfield, while Guro Reiten started on the left wing. Pernille Harder and Fran Kirby appeared to swap the right wing and support striker roles, while Sam Kerr led the line up front.

Wolfsburg boss Tommy Stroot opted for the 4–2–3–1 he seems to prefer for Champions League nights. Almuth Schult was in goal, protected by a back four of Joelle Wdemeyer, Kathrin Hendrich, Dominique Janssen and Felicitas Rauch. Lena Oberdorf and Lena Lattwein formed a powerful midfield partnership, while Svenja Huth played as the attacking midfielder.

Jill Roord was given the left wing berth, but often came well infield. Shanice van de Sanden acted more like a true winger on the right, while Tabea Wassmuth was selected up front having caused Chelsea serious problems with her pace and non-stop running in the first meeting.

A basic overview of how the teams lined up.

Match Analysis

There was, very quickly, a glaring problem with the decision-making of Leupolz. She regularly left her holding midfield position to press Wolfsburg’s midfielders, but this left acres of space for Huth to exploit. Huth was always on the move, looking for pockets to receive in, but in truth she didn’t have to look too hard.

This is a screenshot from the eighth minute. Chelsea have no shape in midfield. Leupolz has gone to press, and Ingle is right behind her. There are four players in a vertical line. It’s far too easy for Lattwein to find Huth in space, and Huth can then run at the Chelsea back line while Van de Sanden and Wassmuth make runs in behind.

Four minutes later, the same thing happens again. Leupolz leaves her position to close down Oberdorf, but Huth drops in and receives. This time Lattwein and Huth have swapped roles, and it’s Huth that feeds Lattwein to drive at Chelsea’s defence and play in one of the runners, Van de Sanden or Wassmuth.

Chelsea’s disorganisation in midfield was a big problem, and it eventually led to a goal.

In the 16th minute, Leupolz was caught well out of position again, after pressing a Wolfsburg throw-in on Chelsea’s right-hand side. Ingle was all alone on an island, and we can see she has to single-handedly deal not only with Huth, but Roord coming infield from the left-hand side. Huth had acres of space all to herself yet again to run at Chelsea’s back line. She played in Van de Sanden, then finished after the right winger’s low cross was deflected her way.

Leupolz’s decision to try and close down Oberdorf and Lattwein caused problems throughout the first half. With Roord coming infield and Huth darting around for space, Ingle was often left with too much space to protect and too many options to cover on her own. This issue was exacerbated by the fact Chelsea’s strikers couldn’t get pressure on the ball and stop Wolfsburg playing into midfield.

Wolfsburg’s centre-backs, Hendrich and Janssen, were always supported by Oberdorf and Lattwein, making a 4-v-2 on Chelsea’s strikers. It was straightforward for Wolfsburg to find routes into midfield, usually through Oberdorf or Lattwein changing their position to make themselves available for a short pass. From there, the holding midfielders could combine with Huth and Roord to make 2-v-1s and 3-v-2s in midfield, play through the lines and get at Chelsea’s back line.

We see this dynamic play out below, in the 39th minute. Lattwein shows for the ball, Wolfsburg play through the Chelsea strikers, and Lattwein can run at Ingle and Leupolz with Roord inside left and Huth looking for space between the lines. Ingle and Leupolz are out-numbered, stuck between closing down and protecting space, and unable to do either.

Wolfsburg dominated midfield, and Chelsea were unable to get a real foothold in the game. They didn’t help themselves with their own attacking play, which was based mostly around direct play, in the air or on the ground, to Kerr or Harder. Every now and then, one of them got in behind Wolfsburg’s defence, but they lacked support and had to go it alone.

In the example below, Kerr wins a header after a long ball, but there is nobody running beyond her for the flick-on and she is surrounded by four Wolfsburg players. Unsurprisingly, Wolfsburg are able to pick up the second ball from here.

Wolfsburg went into half-time 2–0 up, and this was mostly down to the above issues: Chelsea were out-numbered when pressing, out-numbered in midfield, and Leupolz was caught out when deciding to press instead of cover. This paved the way for a panicky second half, defined by tactical changes and substitutions as Hayes looked to steady the ship.

Chelsea came out in a 3–4–3, their usual formation this season. Eriksson went off within six minutes of the restart, likely having not shaken off a knock she suffered in the first half. Bright and Carter played as the outside backs, while Aniek Nouwen came on for Eriksson at the centre of the back three. Chelsea were able to get more pressure on Wolfsburg’s centre-backs and holding midfielders, as seen below, forcing Wolfsburg to go more direct with long balls up towards Wassmuth, who was never going to win in the air against Nouwen or Bright.

The game became a bit scrappier as Chelsea pressed with more success and Wolfsburg had less control of the ball. Wolfsburg continued to press at a high intensity, with Wassmuth quickly closing down Chelsea’s centre-backs and Oberdorf dominating her duels in midfield. When they had to, Wolfsburg fouled to break up Chelsea’s attacks.

Neither team had full control, and Chelsea looked a lot less open than they had in the first half, where they were easily played through. But then came a moment of bad defending. Schult went long towards Carter, the weakest of Chelsea’s back three in the air. Carter was caught between challenging for the aerial ball and dropping off, and did neither. Pauline Bremer, on for Van de Sanden, flicked on for Huth, who played in Wassmuth to make it 3–0.

Hayes changed formation again, with Chelsea now desperate for a goal. They went to a 4–3–3, with Jessie Fleming supporting a frontline of Kerr, Harder and Bethany England. Chelsea played directly, got crosses in and looked to flood the penalty box at every opportunity. Wolfsburg weren’t always so sure in these moments, and indeed struggled to defend set pieces throughout (Kerr had a snapshot hit the bar from a high cross after a free kick in the first half, and Nouwen headed onto the bar from the second phase of a corner in the second).

But the damage had been done, and Wolfsburg ensured their qualification at Chelsea’s expense, Wassmuth running in behind, after Chelsea failed to clear their lines, and smashing home a fourth goal.

SUMMARY OF EVENTS

• Wolfsburg found it easy to play out from the back against Chelsea’s two strikers, with Oberdorf and Lattwein making angles for the centre-backs.
• Wolfsburg out-numbered Chelsea 3-v-2 in midfield, with Huth combining well with Oberdorf and Lattwein. Roord came infield from the left to add to the overload.
• Chelsea’s midfield was disorganised, with Leupolz pressing and Ingle left isolated.
• Chelsea changed to a 3–4–3 formation for the second half, and were able to press more effectively as a result.
• Wolfsburg took advantage of defensive errors in Chelsea’s back three to seal the win.

OTHER THOUGHTS

• Tabea Wassmuth reminds me of the classic German poacher; think Miroslav Klose on the men’s side of the game. Very quick, incredibly hard-working, and clinical in front of goal. She won’t rival Jennifer Hermoso for ball mastery, but she scared the hell out of Chelsea’s defence and I’m sure she will do the same to other defences come the knockout stages.
• After the match, it became apparent that Chelsea had issues with Covid-19, with a number of positive tests following their return to the UK. This clearly will have impacted the team in some way, though Hayes was at pains not to use it as an excuse.
• I also wonder if Wolfsburg’s clarity of purpose made this game easier for them to handle. They had to win by a few goals, and did just that. By contrast, Chelsea had a variety of potential good outcomes and ended up with the one bad outcome.