Under Graham Potter and Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea mostly used a back three.
However, this season, Mauricio Pochettino has opted for a back four with Thiago Silva and Axel Disasi being his two main centre-half options.
Andy Jacobs, though, has now questioned Pochettino’s decision to use Silva in a four-man defence on talkSPORT.
At 39, the Brazilian does not have the pace he once had, so playing a back three makes sense. The two other central defenders in the side can protect him as he sits a bit deeper.
But that is not the approach Pochettino has gone with this term, though.
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Andy Jacobs slams Mauricio Pochettino’s use of Thiago Silva
Jacobs has described Pochettino’s decision to play Silva in a back four as “madness”.
“When we played three at the back with Silva, he was protected and he could do what he really does well,” the talkSPORT presenter said. “But playing him in a back four is just madness, it’s madness.”
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Chelsea could revert back to a three-man defence
In the last few years, Chelsea have mainly used a 3-4-3 formation. Pochettino has often gone with a 4-2-3-1 in the current campaign, but after two terrible results against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool, it looks like he could be about to imitate his predecessors.
It is now being reported that the Argentine is actually considering switching Chelsea to a back three.
It would be great news for Silva, who will get a bit more protection if he is playing alongside both Levi Colwill and Disasi, for instance.
This, however, could be the Brazil international’s last season at Stamford Bridge. His contract, which is worth £110,000 a week (Spotrac), expires at the end of the campaign.
