Leicester City vs Chelsea
Introduction: Claudio Ranieri's Leicester eventually lost out to Conte's Chelsea after a six goal thriller. Chelsea's defensive sloppiness was on show once again as they fell behind to Leicester, and ended up going into the break losing 2-1. At the end of a tense 2nd half with the score 2-2, Wasilewski got himself a second yellow for a duel with Costa. Extra time saw Chelsea and Fabregas score two quick goals and the remainder of the game was seen out at walking pace, with Leicester accepting their fate.
David Luiz
Chelsea reacquired David Luiz on transfer deadline day to mixed reaction. His passing and technical ability on the ball is well known, and yet his defending is less than impressive as crucial lapses in concentration and errors that you would not expect of an experienced international defender somehow slip into his game. One thing he adds to Chelsea's defense is a creative presence that had been lacking. Luiz in defense allows Chelsea to try and find their forward players in behind the opponent's defense and Chelsea tried this several times. Pedro scored a goal which was disallowed for being offside but it came off a sublime pass from Luiz and a dangerous run from Pedro. Michy Batshuayi also found himself on the end of a Luiz ball over Leicester's back four but likewise the flag was raised. Later on Costa found himself with a 1v1 opportunity courtesy of another fantastic pass from Luiz, this time coming from further up the pitch. Despite his passing ability there were several moments where Luiz looked very shaky, most notably when he misjudged a header and allowed Musa the chance to run in behind with an opportunity to score.
424 Preseason Patterns
During Preseason, Conte mostly opted for a 424 and the combination patterns between the two strikers were on display clearly. The above example was a fairly common pattern in preseason, with the winger playing a first time pass into 1 striker who laid it off for his partner before darting in behind to run on to the flick/return ball. Patterns like this were also seen with Conte's Italy in the summer.
Adaptations
Against Leicester similar features were found like the first time passes from the wide-player into the feet of a striker. Under Conte, the wide players have been very aggressive and direct running aggressively at the defence with the ball when the chance arises, and generally starting slightly deeper than they were stationed under Hiddink. A common pattern saw the central midfielder receiving the ball under pressure and passing first time out to the wide player, whom he knows will be stationed there as an escape option. The winger would then pass the ball first time into the striker who would then turn and switch the play to the opposite wing with the winger being able to run 1v1 against the opponents fullback. Against Leicester, Ben Chilwell had a torrid time dealing with Victor Moses who routinely beat him with the ball and caused him problems all night with his pace, dribbling and strength.
Moses and 2nd ball's
Moses was a common target for Chelsea, but Conte has also made sure that his players are aggressive in taking up positions around the target to win second balls. In the above diagram you can see Luiz looking for Moses with a long ball. Many times he would be able to bring it down himself and then run at Chilwell, but Azpilicueta, Batshuayi and Fabregas all move into positions where they can most likely win the second ball. This has been an important feature of Conte's Chelsea, and has allowed them to win most second balls and prevent their opponents from creating many chances.
Azpilicueta on the right
Against Leicester, Marcos Alonso came into the starting lineup, allowing Azpilicueta to start on the right hand side. Azpilicueta primarily occupied the right half space, while Moses stayed extremely wide. Azpilicueta managed to get involved a good deal in possession and even scored what will likely be the best goal of his carreer, a stunning volley from the edge of the box.
Conclusion: Conte's Chelsea have been one of the best sides in England so far along with Manchester City. They have been extremely effective at nullifying their opponents and have created plenty of chances on their own. Against Swansea however, Conte's men rued poor finishing as Swansea managed to steal a point out of nowhere and perhaps this negative halt in momentum was felt when Chelsea faced Liverpool at home, where they lost their first game of the season after an evenly contested match. Chelsea's response against Leicester was good after going behind two goals, and the next few weeks will be crucial for Conte's men as they face Arsenal and United in succession.