Gary Neville calls out Chelsea star Wesley Fofana for game-changing mistake vs Manchester City. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Harry Redknapp suggested Frank Lampard start his team in a back three formation for Tuesday night’s Champions League round of last-eight match between Chelsea and Real Madrid.
Tuesday night’s first-leg match between Chelsea and Real Madrid will be at the Bernabeu, with the return leg taking place at Stamford Bridge on April 18.
Chelsea are currently 17 points outside the top four in the Premier League after Lampard’s first game as interim manager ended in a 1-0 loss to Wolves.
The club has been mired in many issues, and goal-scoring is one of them. However, with the 44-year-old at the helm for the time being, fans will be hoping that Lampard’s system of play can bring fruitful results.
The Blues’ inability to score against Wolves was partially due to Lampard’s decision to deploy the back four rather than the back three.
The former Everton manager has been advised by Harry Redknapp to use a back three and deploy Ben Chilwell as left-back in place of Marcus Cucurella, (h/t Football.London), The Daily Mail quoted Redknapp as saying:
“I think they’re perfectly set to set up three up the back with [great] wing backs Chillwell and James; you’ve got centre halves galore. I think they’re well set up to play that way because they’ve got to make sure they stay in the game first and foremost and give themselves a chance when they go back to Stamford Bridge.
Redknapp is accurate in saying that the back three has worked brilliantly for the Blues in games because it enables Reece James and Chilwell to make overlapping moves and support forwards on either side of their flanks respectively.
Defenders at the back three would be helpful in the meantime because Real Madrid often rely on counterattacks rather than exerting intense pressing
And Real Madrid’s stadium has a wide pitch, so Lampard should start Mykhaylo Mudryk since his pace will benefit from it. Nonetheless, players have to be cautious of them as Real Madrid always come up with ways to punish you if you’re not at your best, as we found out in the same stage of the competition last year.
Attacking them is a good idea but they have often soaked up pressure to play on the counter. Letting them keep the ball and attack, on the other hand, can be a troublesome situation too. We can’t take them lightly at all and Lampard must focus first on a clean sheet then on scoring a goal.
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