Old friends give Chelsea Silva lining

CHELSEA’S 6,000 supporters sang Thiago Silva’s name to the tune of The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army, but with the Brazilian rested or reprimanded — whichever you choose to believe — Benoit Badiashile and Axel Disasi seized the opportunity to showcase their bromance. Both signed from Monaco — Badiashile for £35million in January 2023, Disasi for £38.8m in August 2023 — they had faced criticism as two of a string of signings yet to show their worth. Yet as Chelsea cruised past Villa, you sensed a comfortability between the French duo who played together 65 times for their old club, a sudden influx of confidence as Villa struggled to break this resistance. The only downside was they lost their reward of a clean sheet in stoppage time, though Badiashile had been taken off by then. Disasi is the dueller who wants to do the dirty work, while Badiashile is a defender who likes having the ball at his feet. In other words, one is the washer, the other the dryer, and Chelsea cleaned up in this FA Cup fourth-round replay. It was a performance which proved what getting the basics right can do for you. Too often, Pochettino has tied himself in knots with selections. There was none of that here. He used two natural full backs in Malo Gusto and Ben Chilwell. He told Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez to stay in close proximity in midfield in order to form a defensive box with Badiashile and Disasi. He used wingers in Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson who would defend as well as attack. It was organised, controlled, logical. When Gusto and Chilwell pushed up their wings, Badiashile and Disasi split apart, creating the space for Caicedo to drop in between to turn it into a back three. Silva will not be here for ever — most likely not even beyond this summer when his contract expires — whereas Badiashile and Disasi represent the future, both tied down until at least 2029. Pochettino spent much of his pre-match presser preaching the importance of patience, and Chelsea will see plenty of this pairing. Moving to a back three had been considered by Pochettino, potentially with Silva in between Badiashile and Disasi — the veteran flanked by two more mobile men. There was some talk of the 51-yearold experimenting with that set-up here. Instead, he plumped for a back four, minus Silva. After seeing how this set-up thwarted Aston Villa, it has given Pochettino food for thought in the buildup to that Carabao Cup final against Liverpool.