Chelsea were mesmerised by Flamengo's wide combinations. This is how Felipe Luis' side do it

New York Times

4 hours ago

If there's one thing that distinguishes Filipe Luis' Flamengo, it's their passing combinations in attack.
In the nine months under Luis, Flamengo have mainly played in a 4-2-3-1 shape, with the front four having the freedom to occupy narrow positions and combine in the central or wide areas.
As a result, Flamengo's flying full-backs have been a key element of their attack. But the approach differs from one game to another depending on the characteristics of the players and how the opponent sets up.
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After beating Esperance de Tunis with two goals that perfectly encapsulated their offensive style, Flamengo's wide combinations proved effective in their 3-1 victory against Chelsea on Friday.
Luis continued with the regular Flamengo setup, with Jorginho partnering Erick Pulgar in midfield and Luiz Araujo, Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Gerson behind the striker. However, the deviation came up front, where Gonzalo Plata, who is more of a winger than a centre-forward, started in place of Pedro.
Flamengo's wide combinations were present from their first attack in the game, with Gerson in a narrow role and right-back Wesley Franca pushing down the right wing.
Here, Gerson is marked by Levi Colwill as Danilo plays the ball into the midfielder. Gerson sets it back to Wesley. This passing combination entices Colwill and Marc Cucurella to press.
Even before Danilo plays the ball to Gerson, Plata is in the correct position to attack the space behind Chelsea's left side.
Wesley then plays the ball into the path of the Flamengo forward, but the attack is stopped for a foul on Gerson.
In this example, it's the left-back, Ayrton Lucas, who is vital to the move. Lucas plays a line-splitting pass into the dropping Plata…
… and then dashes forward to make an overlapping run, with Malo Gusto and Trevoh Chalobah dragged up the pitch by Araujo and Plata.
The reason Moises Caicedo isn't in a position to support the right side is that he is protecting the gap in Chelsea's defence and keeping an eye on De Arrascaeta, who is looking to attack it.
Plata then passes the ball to Araujo…
… who tries to find Lucas' third-man run, but the ball deflects off Gusto…
… and Flamengo's centre-forward does the job. However, Lucas' poor first touch allows Caicedo to halt the attack.
The positioning of Plata and Araujo, coupled with the timing of Lucas' run, created a three-vs-two scenario down the wing and exploited Chelsea's right side.
In another example, Flamengo build the attack down the right and Wesley plays the ball in-field to De Arrascaeta. Before the right-back plays the pass, Gerson is already attacking the space vacated by Cucurella pressing forward, and Plata is positioning himself towards that side to pin Colwill and prevent him from defending the third-man run.
Caicedo tries to track Gerson, but the timing of the midfielder's movement gives him a head start, and De Arrascaeta finds his team-mate with a one-touch pass behind the defence.
The dynamic of the move forces Chalobah, Chelsea's right centre-back, to be the player pressing De Arrascaeta…
… which means that when Plata runs towards the penalty spot, Colwill needs to adjust his position, creating a gap in the defence.
De Arrascaeta smartly attacks that space and Gerson finds his run, but the attacking midfielder's cross is easily collected by Robert Sanchez.
When Flamengo's wide combinations had a final output, they were dangerous.
On this attack, Gerson is in a deeper position, and Wesley is occupying the right wing as Jorginho plays the ball to Danilo. Enzo Fernandez is initially keeping an eye on Gerson…
… but Jorginho's forward movement alters his attention. Meanwhile, Danilo's pass to Wesley moves Cucurella up the pitch, and Gerson starts his run early to attack the vacated space, with Caicedo unable to support the left side in time.
Wesley then plays the ball back to Jorginho, which changes Fernandez and Caicedo's focus for a second and stops them from tracking Gerson's run. That amount of time is enough for Jorginho to chip the ball into the path of his team-mate…
… putting Flamengo's forwards in a four-vs-three situation.
Gerson then combines with Bruno Henrique…
… before switching the play to Plata — a pass aided by Araujo's off-ball movement, forcing Gusto deeper.
Plata then dribbles inside against Gusto's momentum and strikes the ball into the roof of the goal, but Sanchez saves it.
From the commencing corner kick, Flamengo managed to equalise through Bruno Henrique, before Danilo gave them the lead three minutes later from another dead-ball situation.
After the cooling break, Luis switched Plata and Gerson's positions, before introducing Wallace Yan instead of the latter in the 82nd minute. It took the 20-year-old exactly a minute to make his mark on the game by scoring Flamengo's third and final goal.
In the build-up to that goal, Wallace attacks the space behind Cucurella as Flamengo's substitute right-back, Guillermo Varela, plays the ball to Plata.
Flamengo's right-winger then passes it to Wallace and overlaps the forward to provide a passing option…
… before the duo combine to cut through Chelsea's defence and make it 3-1.
Flamengo's wide combinations have been a key part of their attack under Luis. The dynamic nature and different variations make it hard to stop. Even if their players are matched in numbers, the timing and unpredictability of their movements give them the upper hand.
Flamengo's slick passing moves aren't just easy on the eye, they are effective, too.