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Mauricio Pochettino appears to LEAK first Chelsea starting XI and drops tactical hint with four unknown players
MAURICIO POCHETTINO has given fans a first glimpse into his tactical vision for Chelsea.
The new Blues boss led an open training session in Cary, North Carolina on Tuesday in preparation for his first game in charge tonight against Wrexham.
Thousands of fans got the chance to observe the Argentine coach putting his squad through their paces ahead of their August 12 Premier League opener against Liverpool.
Towards the end of the session, the group was split in two with the majority of the senior stars moving to a pitch behind the stadium for a separate work-out.
Poch then worked with the remaining 11 on shape and structure in what looks to be his first starting XI as Chelseamanager – and it is not one you would perhaps expect.
The team were set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and went through various stages of building up from the back using intricate passing patterns and movements against carefully arranged mannequins.
The team selected had an average age of just 20, and had eight debutants, with only Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Cucurella and Carney Chukwuemeka having represented the club before.
The team was as follows: Lucas Bergstrom in goal. A back four of Malo Gusto, Chalobah, Bashir Humphreys and Cucurella. Cesare Casadei and Andrey Santos in midfield. Finally, trio Diego Moreira, Chukwuemea and Ian Maatsen were sat behind striker Nicolas Jackson.
Poch bellowed at this group for the majority of the practice, wanting them to play with pace and precision but with a few tactical tweaks, such as inverted wingers and split centre backs.
The seniors – including Conor Gallagher, Thiago Silva, Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell and Christopher Nkunku – then returned for an 11v11 mini-game.
Poch could look to switch his team around completely at half time against Wrexham to give his entire travelling United States squad a chance to impress, with the stronger line-up potentially thrown in for the second half.
So, who is this inexperienced and young starting XI that Poch could put out against the Welsh League Two minnows?
Goalkeeper and Finland international Bergstrom, 20, is 6ft 7in and joined the academy in 2018 before spending last season out on loan with Peterborough.
Right-back Gusto, 20, signed from Lyon in January before finishing the campaign with the French outfit. Humphreys, 20, has been a Blue since he was 15 and was loaned out to Bundesliga 2’s SC Paderborn earlier this year.
Italian midfielder Casadei, 20, arrived last summer only to spend the second half of the season with Reading. Santos, 19, is a Brazilian wonderkid signed in January.
Moreira, 18, joined on a free from Benfica this summer and starred at the U21s Euros with Portugal. Ian Maatsen, 21, impressed for Vincent Kompany’s promoted Burnley last year and is linked with a move back.
And finally, Jackson, 22, is Chelsea’s £32m striker from Villarreal and is expected to lead the line for Poch in the upcoming Prem season.
After missing the season due to a knee injury, Christopher Nkunku is almost ready to make his Chelsea debut. However, Mauricio Pochettino must decide where the £52 million summer acquisition will fit into an improving team. Nkunku is expected to resume full training soon and may make his debut on Saturday against Newcastle.
His absence caused Chelsea to struggle mightily during the early part of the season, as the Frenchman scored three goals in four games during the preseason tour of the United States, around which Pochettino had built his attack.
Nkunku has returned to an improving Chelsea after eight goals in two games against Tottenham and Manchester City, but he has the ability to step up this onslaught even more.
The easiest method for Nkunku to join the club is to replace Nicolas Jackson as the centre striker.
Jackson’s hat-trick against Tottenham brought his season total of goals scored in 14 games to a respectable seven.
However, he has been uneasy in games vs weaker teams and found it difficult to be the centre of attention when the opposition lined up in a low block.
An entertaining eight-goal thriller at Stamford Bridge comes to an end with both Man City and Chelsea sharing the points after a 4-4 draw.
The game took a while to catch fire, Haaland putting City ahead in the 25th minute from the spot after being hauled down by Cucurella,
Buut Chelsea responded, levelling through Thiago Silva’s header before Sterling scored against his former team to make it 2-1 to the hosts.
Back came City, though, as an unmarked Akanji restored parity with a header in first-half added time before Haaland bundled home his second of the game to put the champions 3-2 up.
Chelsea would again answer through Jackson to make it three goals apiece, but Rodri appeared to net the winner with four minutes left, firing home via a huge deflection off Thiago Silva to put City on the verge of victory.
There would be one final twist, however, as Broja came off the bench to win a penalty after being brought down by Dias before Palmer, against the club whose academy he grew up in, stepped up to fire home from the spot and earn Chelsea a point.
The result moves Chelsea up into the top half, and they will look to continue their upturn in form away at injury-hit Newcastle United next Saturday.
City miss the chance to extend their lead at the summit to three points, and they have a huge home game with Liverpool to look forward to next weekend.
Below is the final EPL Table after Today’s Matches;
In a fascinating English Premier League game on Sunday evening, Chelsea secured a hard-fought 4-4 draw against Manchester City, thanks to a stoppage-time penalty from former City player Cole Palmer.
Chelsea’s positive start was momentarily halted when Marc Cucurella fouled Erling Haaland, who confidently converted the subsequent penalty for his 12th Premier League goal of the season. Undeterred, the Londoners struck back with Thiago Silva’s header and Raheem Sterling’s goal against his former club.
The second half continued the intense action, with Haaland scoring early on. Despite key saves from Robert Sánchez, Nicolas Jackson extended Chelsea’s lead. Rodri’s goal seemed to secure the win for Manchester City, but Rúben Dias’s late foul on Armando Broja led to a dramatic stoppage-time penalty, expertly converted by Palmer.
Chelsea’s resilience maintained their positive form under Mauricio Pochettino, having lost only one of their last eight games across all competitions.
Meanwhile, Manchester City remains unbeaten in six competitive fixtures and sits atop the Premier League table.
Check out the latest Premier League Table below:
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