Chelsea will return to action after the international break as the league leaders in the English Premier League after 11 games played by each team in the season. They have the best defensive record in the league, and the team has just conceded four goals. Scoring goals is also not a concern for the Blues, as the players have managed to find the back of the net 27 times. However, there are injury concerns that have caused some troubles to the manager. Thomas Tuchel is without his two main strikers, Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner, who got injured in the third round of the UEFA Champions League. The German coach was left with only Kai Havertz, who could lead the attack for the Londoners. Havertz has featured in every league game since then and is used in a false nine role by the manager.
Kai Havertz has started three league games at the top of the attack. Tuchel’s men played in a 3-4-2-1 formation, and Havertz was supported by two attacking players. The above chart is the heat map of the German international in those matches, and it shows that Havertz drifted a lot towards the left side of the play and has tried to enter the box more from his left side.
Kai Havertz played two full matches and was substituted in a 7-0 win against Norwich City. The 22-year-old scored one goal and created an expected goal rate of 0.84. He attempted eight shots and had three shots on target. The German took 21 touches inside the opposition box and made ten recoveries in these three matches. He attempted seven dribbles and also made six interceptions.
The pass map of the German also suggests that he was involved in a lot of play towards the left side. He delivered 11 balls into the opposition’s penalty area. His passes include six crosses and the other passes were either sideways, forward, or backward passes. Havertz has attempted 11 passes towards left-back Ben Chilwell, and those passes have created the highest threat rate. The German has shared ten passes each with Reece James and Hudson-Odoi.
The above chart shows all the eight shots attempted by Havertz in three matches. The player scored a goal in the previous match against Burnley. His five attempts have been made from inside the opposition’s penalty box and three attempts from outside the penalty box. He has two attempts on target from inside the penalty box and one shot on target from outside the box. The German attempted three shots against Newcastle United and Burnley.
Kai Havertz has helped his side to earn two victories and a draw in the absence of their main strikers. The 22-year-old has drifted wide and allowed other players to get inside the box. Chelsea have scored 11 goals in these three games and maintained their lead. Havertz will look to regain the goal-scoring form that urged Chelsea to sign the attacking midfielder.
