What one journalist has noticed about Chelsea set-piece coach after training sessions
Morgan Rogers was not the only person Chelsea poached from Aston Villa during the summer.
Austin MacPhee also made the move from Villa Park to Stamford Bridge, joining Chelsea as a set-piece coach. He has already been very visible on Chelsea’s touchline, but just how impactful has the Scotsman been since arriving in west London?
What do you make of the criticism Cole Palmer has faced since withdrawing from the England squad?
Rio Ferdinand is still a fan!
Austin MacPhee already an ‘influential’ figure at Chelsea
BBC Sport journalist Nizaar Kinsella was recently asked about Chelsea’s set-piece threat and MacPhee’s arrival. According to the reporter, after watching the Blues’ training sessions, he is a very “influential” figure.
In a Q+A, Kinsella said: “Having watched a number of Chelsea training sessions and seen the team play live since pre-season, I can tell you MacPhee is an influential figure.
“The Scot leads large sections of training focused on set pieces and I would argue he has already had some success in attacking situations.”
Even with MacPhee’s arrival, though, Chelsea are still struggling to defend set pieces. Their defending in most situations has not been good enough this season.
They have already conceded 12 goals in the Premier League, which is more than any other team. Going forward, Xabi Alonso’s side have been much better at least.
Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and Morgan Rogers have been on fire, but Alonso cannot rely on the trio to outscore every team each week. Pedro was absent for Chelsea’s defeat to Brentford and his teammates failed to score in his absence.
Chelsea’s set-piece stats this season
Focusing on set pieces specifically, MacPhee is clearly not doing a bad job when it comes to coaching the team to attack them. As per FotMob, Chelsea have scored from four set-pieces this season. No team in the Premier League has scored more.
However, at the same time, they have conceded from five, the most in the division. If Chelsea want to qualify for the Champions League, they have to improve in some of these defensive areas.
It is MacPhee’s job to do that in regard to set pieces. That is one reason why they brought him in from Villa. Scoring from them is not going to be enough as this Chelsea side continue to leak in goals left, right and centre.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
