It’s becoming increasingly clear that smaller teams may have discovered a formula to frustrate the reigning Club World Cup champions, with sides like Sunderland and Wolverhampton deploying a back five against Chelsea to disrupt their rhythm and limit their attacking fluidity.
By crowding the defensive line and closing down spaces in central areas, these teams have forced Chelsea into predictable wide play, reducing their ability to create clear-cut chances and forcing them to put more crosses into the box, revealing their ongoing struggles to break down compact defences.
Additionally, teams will be licking their lips after seeing how difficult it has been for Chelsea to defend long throw-ins, turning simple set pieces into dangerous scoring opportunities that put Enzo Maresca’s tactics under serious scrutiny.
Chelsea narrowly escaped a late scare in their fourth round EFL Cup clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers, who sit bottom of the Premier League table.
At the end of regular time, the Blues were fortunate that only six minutes of stoppage time were added, as the hosts looked increasingly dangerous and appeared the more likely side to score the next goal – one that would have been crucial as it would have seen the game tied at 4-4, after Wolves were down at half time 3-0, sending the game into penalties.
In the second half, the Blues’ task of keeping Wolves at bay was already challenging. Still, it became even tougher when striker Liam Delap – returning after a four-month injury layoff – was sent off less than 30 minutes after coming on for leaving his elbow on a Wolves defender’s face.
After analysing the Blues’ last two games, it’s clear a new trend is emerging: smaller sides are switching to a back five against Chelsea, abandoning their usual setups to neutralise Enzo Maresca’s tactics that define Chelsea’s play under the Italian coach – at the same time using long throw-ins to create chaos in the box.
The Back Five Against Chelsea: A Tactical Breakdown of the Blues’ Ongoing Struggles
After the defeat to Sunderland, head coach Enzo Maresca revealed in his post-match interview that he had prepared his team to face a back four, only to be surprised on matchday when Régis Le Bris opted for a back five against Chelsea. He said:
“I watched all the Sunderland games in the Premier League before our game, they never played with a back five from the start. Never. So we prepared for the Sunderland game against a back four.
“Before the game in the changing room, before the players go out for the warm-up, I need to tell the players: ‘Guys, all the Sunderland preparation, I put in the rubbish, in 10 minutes we need to change the plan.’ That is why it is difficult.”
This back five against Chelsea worked, and Sunderland, who sit fourth in the league, inflicted a painful defeat on the Blues. Similarly, Wolves, who had used a back four in all nine of their Premier League games this season, switched to a back five against Chelsea in the EFL Cup.
From the first whistle, their approach was clear – sit deep, hit Chelsea on the counter, and create chaos in the box with long throw-ins.
But after early errors which led to Andrey Santos and Estevao Willian’s goals, Wolves were forced to abandon their cautious back five against Chelsea, which left gaps for the Blues to exploit.
In the second half, Wolves increased their intensity, pressing higher up the pitch, putting the visitors under sustained pressure, not allowing them leave their own half, and forcing mistakes out of them. This showed how Enzo Maresca’s tactics, which rely on structured build-up from defence, were stifled and struggled against Wolves’ adaptive approach.
Their persistence paid off when Chelsea failed to clear one of Wolves’ long throw-ins into the box, allowing Moller Wolfe – who was unmarked at the far post – to fire home a goal that Jorgensen should have done better to stop, reducing the deficit to 3-2.
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The Long Throw-ins: Another Weapon Against Chelsea
This season, Chelsea’s Achilles heel appears to be defending long throw-ins. The Blues have been caught out multiple times in the box, conceding goals from such situations against Brentford (a late equaliser), Sunderland (an equaliser), and most recently, Wolves.
This tactic, for some reason, has been widely used by teams in the 2025/26 Premier League season, and it’s proving to be a surprisingly effective weapon – especially against teams like Chelsea who prefer zonal marking.
Teams facing the Blues have quickly identified this vulnerability, using long throw-ins almost like a free-kick, turning seemingly harmless situations into real scoring opportunities.
To solve this problem for Chelsea, they must be able to assert aerial dominance in their box, not just winning the first ball, but also the second and subsequent phases, maintaining focus and structure to prevent opponents from capitalising on loose balls or rebounds.
If the trend continues, rival teams will keep exploiting this flaw – and until Chelsea adapts, they will continue to concede as every long throw-in against them could feel like a corner kick waiting to happen.
Conclusion
The use of a back five against Chelsea isn’t going to stop now, with other teams seeing that if they set up in the same shape and structure, they might come out with either a point or all three.
It’s up to them to improve defensively, move the ball quickly, and develop patterns of play that can break through deep-lying defences.
Against Wolves, they were fortunate to scrape through and book a spot in the quarter-finals of the competition, where they’ll face Cardiff on December 16. But if they are to progress further in the competition, they must show greater tactical maturity, resilience under pressure, and a willingness to adapt to different styles of opposition.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Every Second Media
Recording Date: 29.10.2025