Calum McFarlane has explained why he shifted the Chelsea formation to a back-three in the second half of Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Man City.
The caretaker head coach set "exceptional" Chelsea up in the 4-2-3-1 formation favoured by the departed head coach Enzo Maresca, but was rewarded for switching to a 3-4-3 at half-time when Enzo Fernandez scored a stoppage-time equaliser to earn the Blues a point at the Etihad.
That saw Malo Gusto move from left-back to the right wing and Trevoh Chalobah shift from centre-back to the right of a back-three.
“We didn't expect them [City] to shape up the way they did in the first half,” McFarlane explained after the game.
“With the No5 on the top line, we prepared slightly differently. So then they had a lot of control and we were getting pinned back, with Estevao and Pedro [Neto] getting pinned back to defend in a back five at times, which means that they have so much control and so much rhythm. So that's not how we wanted the game to look.
“So we made a change at half-time to go more man-for-man against the ball and to be able to get more pressure and disrupt their rhythm and hopefully force them to go a little bit longer.”
McFarlane added: “I also think Andrey Santos coming on at half-time and moving Enzo [Fernandez] up one [was important]. I thought Andrey was exceptional. I thought he really, really controlled the middle of the pitch.
“So I think in terms of in possession and out of possession, the shape change really helped us and the sub we made. And then I thought Liam [Delap] was a good sub as well. I thought Liam gave us a really good outlet to go a little bit more direct and occupy the centre-halves. But I think the most impressive thing is probably the players.
“1-0 down at the Etihad, interim manager, players falling ill on the day of the game, the day before the game, all the change. And for them to regroup and take that information on and execute it speaks volumes about the characters we have at this club.
“Young players in those moments, they may crumble — but I thought they were exceptional second half.”
