Analysis: A superstar like Palmer can win you the Premier League

Alex Keble highlights the key talking points from Chelsea's 4-3 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

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There are plenty of reasons to believe Chelsea are well and truly in this title race now, but by far the biggest is having Cole Palmer in their ranks.

Palmer’s sensational, Lionel Messi-like twisting dribble and cross, sandwiched between two penalties, inspired Chelsea to a deserved 4-3 victory in a manic, breathless, and brilliant match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Coming back from 2-0 down, Chelsea’s fourth consecutive Premier League victory has moved them to within four points of Liverpool – and piled more pressure on Tottenham Hotspur.

Premier League

Position Pos	Club	Played Pl	GD	Points Pts
1	Liverpool LIV	19	+28	46
2	Arsenal ARS	20	+21	40
3	Nott'm Forest NFO	20	+10	40
4	Chelsea CHE	20	+15	36
5	Newcastle NEW	20	+12	35

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Chelsea's 3-2-2-3 is perfect formation to expose Spurs’ 4-2-4

The first 45 minutes was defined by the way the two formations clashed with each other, and although Spurs’ counters were dangerous (more on that below) Chelsea took control with their 3-2-2-3.

Typically of Enzo Maresca, Chelsea had Romeo Lavia and Moises Caicedo, the latter inverting from right-back, at the base of midfield, with Palmer and Enzo Fernandez in front of them, forming a box shape – and a four-on-two against the Spurs midfield.

Most teams sit off Chelsea, attempting to negate the line-splitting potential of that box midfield, but Spurs – again, typical of their manager Ange Postecoglou – instead pressed ultra-high, their front four steaming at the Chelsea defenders at every opportunity.

That meant the two Spurs midfielders, Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr, had to sit on Lavia and Caicedo, leaving Palmer and Fernandez completely free between the lines.

This visual should help explain the basic mismatch that happens when four players push onto defenders against a 3-2-2-3.

Here, Spurs players overly pressurise Lavia and Caicedo, therefore once these two wriggle clear half the Spurs team is beaten, leaving the No 8s – Fernandez and Palmer (circled in the second image) – wide open.

Palmer and Fernandez got on the ball over and over again, their availability giving Chelsea players the passing option to break the Spurs press - and therefore quickly take six players out of the game.

This is what happened for their first goal, when Palmer received possession, the press was broken, and Jadon Sancho was released down the left.

The lack of Spurs players able to close him down centrally highlights how many have been taken out of the match in the Chelsea half.

Spurs' quick breaks and high press bring chaos

Inevitably the tactical pattern as explained above stretched the pitch whenever Chelsea went forward, in turn giving Spurs opportunities to break back the other way and give us an extraordinary game that was a bit like basketball.

Son Heung-min, Destiny Udogie, and Dejan Kulusevski were excellent at breaking together, taking advantage of Caicedo’s discomfort at right-back and Pedro Neto’s defensive shortcomings.

But the two early Spurs goals resulted from Marc Cucurella slips, and while they were poor errors from the left-back we ought to praise Postecoglou’s high press for forcing them.

That’s the flip side of the approach; that’s the high reward you get for the high risk.

When the front-four press was beaten Spurs were in trouble, but in the opening 15 minutes it had Chelsea on the ropes, scrambled Cucurella, and led to a 2-0 lead.

Half-time subs fix defensive issues and pin Spurs back

There were positives and negatives for both teams, then, in the first half. But in the second it was Maresca who made the tweaks that gave Chelsea full control.

Replacing Lavia for Malo Gusto, Maresca solved all the issues - and caused Spurs some new ones.

Gusto moved to right-back, Fernandez shifted from the top of the box to the bottom (moving from a No 8 to a No 6), and Cucurella went from standard left-back to an under-lapping Udogie-like No 8.

All three moves changed the match.

Gusto at right-back was considerably more secure than Caicedo, shutting down the main source of Spurs' attacks.

Better still, Fernandez took control of central midfield in a deeper position, his measured possession giving the visitors a tight grip on the match; they held 81 per cent of the ball in the 16 minutes leading up to the equaliser, as Chelsea increased the intensity.

And finally, Cucurella confused Spurs, his movement a major factor in Chelsea’s new fluency in the final third – and a fresh example of the No 8s at the top of Chelsea’s box midfield going unmarked.

Cucurella's second-half touch map

Palmer makes difference as Spurs succumb to pressure

Spurs were consistently pushed back by the new control achieved via Gusto, Fernandez, and Cucurella, and eventually the pressure told.

Both penalties were poor challenges, the first coming after brilliant play from Sancho, who had a fantastic match on the left and deserves special mention.

From that point on it was all about Palmer, and here we return again to the tactical issue Spurs had defending him in the right half-space.

His cross for Fernandez’s goal, then his run into the box to win a penalty for the fourth, typified Spurs' 4-2-4 not being able to cope with how the No 8s moved wide of the Spurs’ two-man midfield.

His twist and turn in the lead-up to Fernandez's was Palmer’s highlight… or maybe it was the Panenka to make it 12 out of 12 penalties converted in his Premier League career... or maybe the absurd glancing volley through-ball that came afterwards.

Watch Palmer's panenka penalty

He was stunning, as usual, accelerating just as Spurs ran out of steam to define another crucial Chelsea match.

With a superstar like Palmer in the team, there is no ceiling for Chelsea. The title race is on.