After hounding Napoli for several months, Jorginho landed in the palms of Chelsea. After having the intent of replacing the ageing Fernandinho, Manchester City ended up sticking with Brazilian veteran. At that time, Jorginho’s move was lauded with praise. Yet, as the season has moved on, the once regista has looked increasingly tired and one-dimensional.
During Chelsea’s heavy defeat to Manchester City, both Fernandinho and Jorginho started in their preferred position. One controlled the game while the other was left chasing shadows. Today we provide a tactical analysis into both of these players and ultimately decide whether which club got the best player.
Defensive phase
Both Jorginho and Fernandinho play centre defensive midfield for their respective clubs in a 4-3-3 formation. While playing in the same formation and the position, both of the players vary in their defensive contributions.
Part of this stems from the individuals themselves. Out of both, it is evident that Fernandinho is more athletic, despite the waning age. Standing at 179 cm, Fernandinho has developed a bullish frame, one that is uncommon among Brazilians. On the other hand, Jorginho is less athletic. While being 1 cm taller than Jorginho, the small frame, moulded from his time at Italy, is nonconducive to the physical and bullish Premier League.
Taking from this, we often find Joriginho blocking angles and passing lanes of a player rather than being physical.
Jorginho’s tackles are far and few and even then, most of them are in their own half. While it does help Chelsea win back the ball, they’re immediately put under pressure. Additionally, Jorginho’s tackles are nowhere near the active zones such as zones 16-18. This further reinstates the point that Jorginho is not as helpful in the defence of Chelsea’s game
This fact comes into light when we compare their defensive stats.
Fernandinho
Jorginho
Jorginho, on the other hand, fails to provide that. Being the defensive midfielder, he is constantly outrun, outpassed, and outmuscled. This means that for teams, it becomes much easier to go from central zones to zones 14 and 17, the most dangerous zones for any team
Attacking phase
Some excuse Jorginho’s defensive stats, suggesting that he is not a traditional defensive midfielder. Calling him a regista, people glaze over his passing statistics.
Fernandinho
Jorginho
In terms of attacks, both are performing the same, quality wise. The only difference seen here is the number of passes that Jorginho plays to accomplish the same goals as Fernandinho. There are certain reasons as to why the long balls vary.
On the first hand, Manchester City have evolved from a team and employ both short and long passes in their arsenal. Unlike Chelsea, City are very direct in attack and additionally, the wingers from City are capable of diagonal and curved runs.
Chelsea, on the other hand, are stagnant and the runs from the attackers are reactive rather than proactive. Thus, Jorginho’s long balls are fewer in number.
We can see where these short/long balls end up if we examine forward passes
Jorginho
Fernandinho
On the other hand, for Chelsea, the runners are stagnant and the curved runs that are made are very late. Additionally, the lack of overlapping runs forces Jorginho to pass inwards and not deviate towards the wing zones. Since most of the defence is clustered centrally, his passes cannot be as penetrative as Fernadinho’s can.
Additionally, Fernandinho is more engaged in the attack than Jorginho:
Fernandinho’s heat map in the City – Chelsea game:
These heat maps are also informative in the sense that Jorginho plays very high. His presence near the defence is not as much, and even then, his positions are rarely deep. Thus, Jorginho leaves huge gaps between himself and the defence, which makes it easier for the opponent to create 2v1, working against Chelsea.
This passing has to converge onto final movements and decisive actions. The problem, with Chelsea, is the positions of Chelsea players are too supportive. Kante and Jorginho, as seen in his heatmap, often take supporting positions. In the final third, you need the midfield and the attack to pass and move with precision. Unfortunately, Jorginho’s incision has been lost for this second half of the season
So who got the better deal?
There are still many variables in the balance here. For example, the quality of those who are recipient makes a big difference. While Fernandinho’s passes are met with perfect technique and execution, Jorginho’s passes are met with hesitancy and slow thinking. It may be this which has led to the fact that Jorginho’s passes are not directly linked to many goals.
Additionally, fatigue does make an appearance, as Jorginho has been exclusively used for every match, for Chelsea. Jorginho is still a talented footballer, whose precision and incision is (and was) sought after every professional club. If anything, this analysis goes to showcase the true class and expertise of the Brazilian veteran. Forgotten by many, he has quietly made a comeback, one that has put the Neapolitan to dismay.
