Notes on Schürrle
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Loading ...In lieu of Chelsea’s defeat to Everton Tim Palmer analyses the heavily criticised performance of André Schürrle. The German is currently playing out of his favoured position and adapting to a new league - is the criticism warranted?
The story of Sunday’s sorry defeat to Everton was certainly Chelsea’s profligacy in front of goal, and in particular, new signing Andre Schürrle came in for criticism from fans and manager alike.
While the German’s poor shooting (and underhit pass for Samuel Eto’o) can remain a source of frustration, the important role he played down Chelsea’s right flank cannot be ignored. One of his overlooked traits – and perhaps the key attribute in the club’s seeming desperation to sign him – is his work rate off the ball, and his willingness to track back and defend. Schürrle’s a fine counter-attacking winger in his own right, but his defensive discipline makes him ideal for Jose Mourinho’s ‘standard’ system.
It was no surprise, then, that Schürrle was selected ahead of Chelsea’s attacking options to start on the flank in Sunday’s encounter. Everton’s attacking drive from the full-back positions has long been obvious, and that has only become more prominent in the more open, possession-based system that new coach Roberto Martinez has promoted. Leighton Baines, in particular, is a key contributor to attacks, motoring forward regularly to deliver consistent crosses from a variety of positions, ranging from lofted balls from deep to intelligent, driving cutbacks from the byline. The width he provides – and the service he supplies – is perhaps the first factor in any opposing club’s scout report.
But whereas in the first three games of the Premier League season Baines has recorded 100, 98 and 106 touches (against Norwich, West Brom, and Cardiff respectively), against Chelsea that tally dropped almost by half to 56. In fairness, Everton’s diminished possession must be acknowledged – they recorded just 47% in contrast to their season average of 64% - but still, these kind of numbers serve in part as an illustration for Chelsea’s nullification of his threat, and it’s difficult to remember a moment in which Baines truly contributed to Everton’s attacks.
The encouraging thing is that there were two factors in play here. Schürrle’s inclusion in the first place showed Mourinho knows what he can contribute in a defensive sense, and Baines’s diminished influence is a testament to the German’s ability, but secondly, Martinez himself instructed Everton’s full-backs to stay in deeper positions midway through the first half – an acknowledgment of Chelsea’s potency on the counter-attack in wide positions. Schürrle’s finishing wasn’t quite there, but it seems unlikely that would be enough to deter Mourinho from using him in a hybrid defensive winger role in the future.
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