Chelsea's
1-0 win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Sunday was a crucial
one for manager Antonio Conte.
But how did the Premier League champions get the result?
With the help of Opta's in-depth data tools, we take a look at the key
factors in their victory…
Kante's coverage
The return of N'Golo Kante was fundamental to Chelsea's success with the
midfielder's now famed dominance of the centre of the pitch once again in
evidence. The France international was badly missed in the defeat to Crystal
Palace and both Champions League games against Roma but showed here why he
is so important to his team.
Kante won possession of the ball 11 times - more than anyone else on the
pitch - and gave the Chelsea defence the protection they had been lacking of
late. The graphic above highlights Kante's defensive coverage against
Manchester United.
According
to Opta, defensive coverage measures the area of defensive responsibility
implied by a player's defensive actions during a match. Kante's presence
helped to ensure that Manchester United struggled to find a path through to
Romelu Lukaku.
Fabregas's threat
Cesc
Fabregas has been used in a deeper role for much of this season due to the
sale of Nemanja Matic to United and injuries to the Serbian's replacements.
However, Conte deployed Fabregas in an advanced role on Sunday and the
midfielder justified his manager's decision - he was the key creative figure
in the game and central to Chelsea's success.
Opta's shot-sequencing tool delves into the data to identify those players
who contribute to the moves that lead to their team's shots. Sequences are
defined as passages of play which belong to one team and are ended by
defensive actions, stoppages in play or a shot.
Fabregas was involved in nine sequences that resulted in a shot for Chelsea
on Sunday, more than anyone else. Alvaro Morata scored the goal and Cesar
Azpilicueta provided the assist but it was no surprise to see Fabregas
involved in the build-up play.
United nullified
Indeed, Fabregas was involved in three times as many shots as any Manchester
United player as the visitors' own chief creator, Henrikh Mkhitaryan,
struggled to have any impact on the game. The sequencing data also shows
that United's direct speed of attack was slower than Chelsea's.
The result of it all was that Chelsea deserved their win. According to
Opta's expected goals model, the quality of Chelsea's chances could be
expected to produce an average of 1.6 goals. In comparison, Manchester
United's chances were worth only 0.7 goals on average. Chelsea's midfield
structure - in defence and attack - made the difference.
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