Havertz can tear Chelsea apart and Bielsa must address defensive flaw
Chelsea’s Kai Havertz presents a new problem for Leeds United to solve on Saturday after he blew Everton away on Monday night.
Havertz has so far failed to justify his hefty price tag during his short time at Stamford Bridge but that began to chance on Monday.
Havertz was the best players on the pitch by some distance as he played a large role in both of Chelsea’s goals in their 2-0 win over the Toffees.
His deflected shot went down as a Ben Godfrey goal before he won a second-half penalty that was converted by Jorginho.
Knowing our defensive vulnerability, Havertz has the potential to pick us apart if Thomas Tuchel selects him for Saturday’s lunchtime clash.
He made three progressive runs against Everton (Wyscout) and these caused real problems for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
We fear he could have an equal amount of success against us if Chelsea try to pull the same trick twice.
Taking a look at one moment from the second half, Havertz makes an excellent run and even though Godfrey is with him the defender has no chance of getting near the ball.
He’s beaten the offside trap and is essentially left one on one with Jordan Pickford who has a big decision to make.
Does he stay on his line or come to meet the player?
Pickford chooses the second option and rushes out of his goal, bringing Havertz down and giving away a penalty.
This is more like the player who tore Bundesliga defences to pieces last season and more worryingly, the player Chelsea fans thought they were getting.
Havertz also made plenty of things happen on Monday night as he completed 93% of his passes in a man of the match performance. (Wyscout)
If he plays to the same level against us on Saturday we could be in serious trouble as our defence looked far from solid in our own Monday night game against the Hammers.
Bielsa may want to drop our defensive line slightly to counter Chelsea’s deadly through balls but that would stop us being able to press.
El Loco certainly has his work cut out ahead of this weekend but if anyone can work out how to stop Havertz…
In other Leeds United news, Jorge Sampaoli name-checked Bielsa in his first press conference as Marseille boss.