Levi Colwill explains the tactical revolution behind his good form | OneFootball

Levi Colwill looked like he was going to be one of the players to benefit most from the arrival of Enzo Maresca at Chelsea, and it has played out exactly that way.

The defender is known for being great on the ball, and Maresca’s system encourages the central defenders to pass quite aggressively into midfield. Colwill is perfect for it. We had a preview of this when he was on loan at Brighton under Roberto De Zerbi, but now he’s two years older and wiser and playing in a team with even more talent.

Levi Colwill learning from Enzo Maresca on the training pitch.

Colwill perfect for Maresca-ball

Saturday’s game against his old team saw Colwill once again dominate possession and help his team pull off deadly rapid counter attacks by playing the crucial first pass out of the back line to set his attackers away. Speaking today to the club’s official website, Colwill was very clear on who should get the praise for his good season so far:

“I’m really happy with my form so far this season and I put a lot of that down to the gaffer,” Colwill explained.

“He’s given me a lot of confidence and he’s put a lot of trust in me to play my football. He wants me to start attacks from the back and having that trust makes me feel a big part of how we want to play. I want to thank him for giving the opportunities to play and for allowing me to play my football in the way I feel I’m good at. He’s always pushing me and I’m really enjoy working under him.”

From the moment we saw Colwill named as a consistent starter in preseason we had high hopes that this would be a year where he made great progress, and it’s certainly looking that way so far.