Former Chelsea defender Mario Melchiot cannot understand why Mauricio Pochettino is playing Levi Colwill out of position.
Levi Colwill is a centre-back, but Mauricio Pochettino has been using him at left-back this season.
On the Chelsea manager’s decision to play the 20-year-old there, Melchiot said on ESPN FC: “I like Colwill. I was one of the first to say don’t sell him, but I don’t understand why you play him there. If you want to play him, play him in the centre of the backline, in the centre.”
With Colwill starting at left-back, Ben Chilwell has been pushed further forward, though the England international was left out of the Blues’ first XI for their last game against Aston Villa.
Chelsea currently sit 14th in the Premier League table, so Pochettino’s experimenting has not really worked out, but it is still early in the season. It may start to bear fruit eventually.
Where should Levi Colwill play?
Eventually, Pochettino surely has to move Colwill back to central defence and hand Chilwell his old role.
It is hard to see what Chelsea are actually gaining from putting a centre-back at left-back and a left-back at left wing.
Pochettino will have his reasons, but his tactics will continue to be criticised if his side keep dropping points.
Will Colwill and Chilwell moving back to their normal positions fix everything? Probably not. There are larger issues in the team, like their failure to score goals.
But fans will probably be more lenient towards him when things are going wrong if everyone is playing in their correct position, while starting an actual attacker in the forward line over a defender should increase Chelsea’s chances of finding the back of the net.
Mykhailo Mudryk has got the nod over Chilwell in the Blues’ last two games and while they have not been able to score with him on the pitch, the Ukrainian has still looked more threatening than Chilwell.
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