284 passes – power of double pivot proved; could release Reece James | OneFootball

Chelsea tried out a few new things tactically in Saturday’s FA Cup win over Charlton, including a Moises Caicedo – Andrey Santos double pivot.

We’ve all been keen to see more of that setup this season, with that releasing Enzo Fernandez to play further forward and Cole Palmer on the wing. We saw it for just 20 minutes against Fulham, before Marc Cucurella’s red meant Santos was taken off.

On the evidence of Sunday, it can give us a very stable base. Caicedo took the most touches in the game, with 154. HE made 139 passes. Santos had 132 touches and 120 passes, all according to Fotmob

They had 12 defensive contributions between them, shutting down Charlton repeatedly on the counter.

Chelsea must repeat strong base against Arsenal

Chelsea players celebrate goal against Charlton. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Of course this is against lower league opposition. But there’s no reason to not try it again when Caicedo is back from his next ban. It helps us compete physically, without requiring us to use Reece James in midfield.

This could be the first real tactical breakthrough of the Liam Rosenior era. Everyone predicted a new lease of life for Santos at Chelsea because of his existing success under Rosenior. That could happen even faster than expected. If he looks good against the Gunners and Rosenior likes the Palmer – James combo out right, we could be into a new phase.

In other news…

Only two Chelsea players won more duels than Facundo Buonanotte last night. He played well, created a lot in limited time on the pitch, and will have impressed anyone thinking of making a move for him in the summer.

Liam Rosenior got a big win in his first game – as good as you can get new a new manager. But there’s a lot of negativity not to do with him at the club right now, that he has to deal with.