Kicking off our Gameweek 37 Scout Notes, we look back on Chelsea’s narrow win over Manchester United on Friday night.
£4.5m MIDFIELDER UP FRONT
The prospect of a £4.5m midfielder playing ‘out of position’ for a top-five challenger sounds too good to be true. In reality, it probably is.
It was a real show of faith from Enzo Maresca to not just hand Tyrique George (£4.5m) his full Premier League debut but also task him with leading the line in Nicolas Jackson‘s (£7.7m) absence.
As has been widely remarked about Jackson, he’s ‘not just about the goals’. Which is a good job, as there have barely been any in the last five months. What the Senegalese striker does bring to the table is relentless harrying and channel running, link-up play and ball retention.
George was found wanting on that front. Isolated up top and failing to get a single shot away, his major contribution – and only penalty box touch – was winning a spot-kick that was correctly overturned for simulation.
Maresca seemed content enough after full-time, not that you’d expect him to hang the teenager out to dry.
“Very good. Very good. Brave. He was a threat in behind. Not easy for him because on the other side you have Maguire, you have Lindelof, you have Shaw. He was fighting against important defenders. But again, we tried to find a solution with a player from the academy. Overall, I think also he had the penalty moment, so he works quite good.” – Enzo Maresca on Tyrique George
“Absolutely, yes. 100%.” – Enzo Maresca on whether he’s seen enough to entrust Tyrique George with line-leading duties in Gameweek 38
DULL AS DIRT
Let’s be fair, though. This is a 19-year-old rookie we’re talking about, someone who was not playing in their preferred position on their full league bow.
The senior attackers around him deserve more of the flak, from Noni Madueke‘s (£6.0m) profligacy to Pedro Neto‘s (£6.1m) hit-and-hope crosses. Enzo Fernandez (£4.7m) had an off-day, too.
As for Cole Palmer (£10.5m), he’s a shadow of the player from the first half of 2024/25. That’s not a new observation but there had been hope that his excellent display in Gameweek 35 would spark a renaissance. The poor touch, and the shortage of confidence/conviction, was in evidence again here, though.
He was still, despite all that, probably the brightest of the front four – which is not saying much. Madueke wasted two big chances from beautifully weighted Palmer passes, although the first would have been ruled out for offside had he scored.
All in all, this was not a good advert for Chelsea attackers, with neither the Blues nor their supposedly distracted visitors reaching 1.0 xG.
Perhaps the high-stakes nature of this fixture (UEFA Champions League qualification on the line) was as much of a contributing factor as the lack of Jackson. Therein lies the two sides of the ‘something to play for’ coin: it’s great for helping with teamsheet predictability, which is half the battle in FPL, but it can lead to nervy end-of-season affairs. We saw a bit of that with Aston Villa on Friday, too, at least initially.
Gameweek 38 at the City Ground will be edgier still.
CUCURELLA AT THE DEFENDER GOALS SUMMIT
So, it was left to the defenders to secure the points.
Reece James (£4.8m), reinstated at right-back with the excellent Moises Caicedo (£4.9m) moving into midfield, produced the sort of display that used to tempt Fantasy suitors.
Whacking the post with a Pavard-esque shot in the first half, he produced a superb turn and cross for Marc Cucurella (£5.4m) to send a thumping 71st-minute header past the previously untroubled Andre Onana (£4.9m).
Cucurella now has five goals to his name in 2024/25, a tally that no other defender can better:
All five goals have come from Gameweek 16, too, around the point at which he was handed more of an attacking remit.
In that time, Cucurella has scored on more occasions than any other Chelsea player (Palmer has four). A 2025/26 FPL price rise beckons.
“I think Cucu already scored this season an exactly similar goal against Brentford, against Wolves. He’s in the right position at the right moment, so it’s not about how big you are, tall or small. Just to be in the right position at the right moment. Cucu is an intelligent player and he’s helping us also with the goals.” – Enzo Maresca on Marc Cucurella
WHAT VERSION OF UNITED AWAITS VILLA IN GAMEWEEK 38?
As he hinted he would do in his pre-match presser, Ruben Amorim went strong for this clash at Stamford Bridge.
It was a creditable performance from the visitors, or at least creditable for the current incarnation of a once-great club now sitting in a miserable 16th.
Defensively, it was pretty solid. Even during this eight-match winless run (their longest in Premier League history), they rank a decent sixth for expected goals conceded (xGC).
Above: Clubs sorted by minutes per expected goals conceded (xGC) from Gameweek 30 onwards
Not a straightforward test for a potentially jittery Aston Villa in Gameweek 38, then, although the hope will be that United have nothing left in the tank, emotionally and physically, after Bilbao on Wednesday.
Shots were in short supply at the other end: just four all game. Harry Maguire (£4.9m) did have a goal chalked off for a narrow offside.
