Man City performance PROOF of Pochettino's biggest Chelsea error

Cameron Smith

• 19 Feb 2024 13:42 GMT
• 5 min read

Levi Colwill has made 29 appearances for Chelsea so far this season. 20 have been at left-back and only nine have been at centre-back.

On Saturday, against Pep Guardiola’s treble-winning Manchester City, he proved just why Mauricio Pochettino must avoid playing him at left-back at all costs from now on.

The England international was sensational on loan at Brighton & Hove Albion last season, playing the majority of the campaign next to Seagulls captain Lewis Dunk, with Pervis Estupinan at left-back.

Roberto De Zerbi’s pattern-heavy style of play required both Dunk and Colwill to show immense composure on the ball at all times, and despite it being his debut Premier League season, the on-loan Chelsea man flourished.

He was arguably one of the best centre-backs in the English top flight during the 2022-23 campaign and interest from Liverpool soon arrived. Brighton also wanted to sign him permanently, but Chelsea were able to fight off significant competition for his signature and tie him down to a new long-term contract that runs until 2029.

Colwill has been a regular at Stamford Bridge since returning to the club, but the majority of his appearances have come at left-back.

With Chelsea’s midfield and attack severely lacking height, Pochettino has mostly used at least one centre-back at full-back this campaign to combat this, with Colwill the most regular to fill in. Axel Disasi has also played at right-back, while Benoit Badiashile has been deployed at left-back on one or two occasions. However, it’s Colwill who has suffered most.

Injuries to Ben Chilwell and Marc Cucurella didn’t help, but Pochettino often favoured Colwill at left-back even when both players were fully fit, and Ian Maatsen was also completely ignored despite his stellar form on loan at Burnley.

Why Mauricio Pochettino must play Levi Colwill at centre-back

Despite his obvious talent, Colwill has been exposed on numerous occasions this campaign, mostly due to the fact he has been playing out of position. Although his top speed is good, Colwill’s initial acceleration and agility aren’t his best attributes (as expected for a tall centre-back) and he has been outwitted several times by tricky wingers as a result.

His form has been slightly blown out of proportion, but Colwill evidently doesn’t particularly suit playing as an out-and-out left-back.

With Chilwell now back to full fitness, the opportunity to use Colwill in his natural left centre-back role has presented itself and he did not disappoint against Man City.

The 20-year-old came off the bench against Crystal Palace last week and he replaced Thiago Silva in Chelsea’s starting XI at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. The result? A fantastic performance from a player who needs to become the Blues’ starting centre-back for the next 10 years.

Sure, Erling Haaland missed a number of guilt-edged chances, but Colwill and his partner Disasi were both magnificent on the night.

The England international made 10 clearances, two tackles, two blocks and one interception, while he also maintained a 90% pass accuracy, despite Man City’s press.

His line-breaking passes were a joy to watch at the Etihad, with Colwill dismantling Man City’s pressing structure on several occasions via inch-perfect incisive passes into the feet of Enzo Fernandez, Conor Gallagher or Nicolas Jackson.

Just like Badiashile, Colwill is an expert with the ball at his feet and he is a vast upgrade on Brazilian veteran Thiago Silva in this regard.

While Silva has been a regular at Chelsea this campaign, Colwill’s performance against Man City is proof that he should’ve been playing at centre-back all season - and that is arguably Pochettino’s biggest error since joining Chelsea.

Silva still reads the game expertly from a defensive standpoint, but he is often far too slow in possession and he lacks the line-breaking passing ability that Colwill has in his locker. This has been a real issue for Chelsea this season, with their ineffectiveness against low blocks at least partly down to Silva and their high exposure to opponents’ press also a result of the Brazilian’s lack of ball-playing expertise.

Colwill, on the other hand, is rarely ever fazed when in possession, and just when it looks as though he may lose the ball, the Englishman frequently picks out a delightful pass to set his team up for a counter-attack. That happened multiple times against Man City, with Chelsea turning Guardiola’s side easily thanks to Colwill’s unerring ability to find a team-mate in space.

Pochettino has been at fault for several things since joining Chelsea, but playing Colwill at left-back, not centre-back, has been one of his biggest errors and something that he must avoid for the rest of the 2023-24 campaign.