The key attacking, defensive and goalkeeping stats behind Chelsea’s good start | OneFootball

Chelsea’s stat pack for today’s game against Brighton makes fascinating reading.

The Blues are in good form and the numbers back that up. There’s a variety of really interesting numbers included by the club here that back up what we’re seeing with our eyes. Here’s an attacking, a goalkeeping and a defensive stat to ponder in the build up to the game.

Robert Sanchez claims a high ball in the melee.

In-form Chelsea and Brighton prepare for match-up

Defensively, it’s early days but there’s a major drops in goals conceded so far – 1 per game as opposed to a monstrous 1.64 a year ago. That’s mirrored with an improve

Of course those numbers are heavily affected by the fixtures so far – but today will be another big step towards statistical significance. If we’re looking at similar figures come Christmas, we’ll be in a great spot.

In goal, we’ve been very critical of Robert Sanchez in his time at the club, and we’re well aware of his flaws. But he’s been much better of late, and his strength under the high ball has been really notable. That, combined with some improved coaching and team selection which means there are plenty of big boys in the mix, has meant that much better outcomes at set pieces. The stats show that “Robert Sanchez has dealt with nine of the 55 crosses (16.4 per cent) into his box this season, the highest percentage in the top flight.”

On the ball, we’re fascinated to see how both teams approach the game. The numbers say that this is the team with the 6th most average possession in the league against the team with the third most. We expect Brighton to sit a little deeper today as they’re playing away, but they have the capability to keep the ball if they want.