Liam Rosenior: Why tactical change allowed Chelsea star to 'really dominate' vs Napoli
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Liam Rosenior highlighted the importance of Enzo Fernandez, especially when he dropped back to central midfield, in Chelsea's 3-2 comeback win over Napoli in the Champions League.
It was a dream start for Chelsea in Naples as they took the lead through Fernandez's spot kick after 19 minutes.
It was clear, however, that Chelsea struggled to adapt to Napoli's three-at-the-back system and intensity.
The hosts equalised in the 33rd minute before Rasmus Hojlund put them ahead 10 minutes later.
Rosenior reacted quickly and introduced Cole Palmer into the game after the break, which proved decisive.
The Chelsea head coach also made a couple more changes before the hour mark, which allowed Palmer to operate as a number 10 as Fernandez dropped to a deeper midfield role.
"Actually, the tactical change, I thought Andrey Santos actually had a very good game, but we needed to go for the win," Rosenior explained in his post-match press conference.
"When Enzo moved back into the number six role, he started to really dominate and control the game with Moi (Caicedo).
"Again, so many pleasing individual performances but I think the most pleasing aspect was the collective mentality of the group to have a positive reaction to a difficult first half."
Chelsea significantly reduced Napoli's shot attempts in the second half, from six in the first period to just two, and it clearly helped.
Palmer also showed why he is widely regarded as the best player at Chelsea, having provided the assists for both of Joao Pedro's goals.
Thanks to this win, Chelsea secured a sixth-place finish in the league phase of the Champions League table and automatic qualification for the knock-out stages.
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.