Chelsea boss on tactic that broke Liverpool’s back four repeatedly and could be used against Man City

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·9 Mei 2026

Chelsea boss on tactic that broke Liverpool’s back four repeatedly and could be used against Man City

Calum McFarlane was asked about his tactical plan against Liverpool today, and gave a textbook McFarlane answer.

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Calum McFarlane is what’s known as a “steady eddy” in terms of his personality, and his answer today about Chelsea’s game plan against Liverpool was a perfect example.

“I haven’t seen the data. I think we were effective down both sides, in my honest opinion,” the interim manager responded when asked if his team had deliberately targeted the right hand side of Liverpool’s defence.

“I thought Cole [Palmer] and Malo [Gusto] caused them real problems with their rotation on the right, and I thought, yeah, you’re right in terms of Cucurella running off the ball and finding space with great movement. So, it was definitely something that we knew [could be effective].”

Stolid McFarlane responds to tactical questions

It’s pretty funny (and quite in keeping with the kind of character that McFarlane seems to be) that he says he needs to “see the data” to work out whether Chelsea had targeted Liverpool’s right hand side. Firstly, you’re the manager, Calum! Did you tell them to target it or not? Secondly, we haven’t seen any data, but we watched the game and it was very clear that 90% of Chelsea’s threat was being generated down that side, with Cucurella repeatedly breaking in behind.