Beyond the Chaos — Sjoeke Nüsken's No. 10 role explained

With injuries mounting, Emma Hayes' tactical innovation has yielded some unpredictable results with Nüsken popping up as an unlikely source of goals and...chaos

Sometimes, transfers work better than ever intended.

When Chelsea bought Sjoeke Nüsken in the summer, they did so knowing they were buying a proactive defensive midfielder who could become one of the best midfielders in the world. Billed as sort of “Lena Oberdorf-lite”, Chelsea assumed they picked up the next best version of her famous German teammate, when in fact they got someone entirely different.

They probably didn’t expect a multi-faceted midfielder capable of being a midfield screen, box-to-box midfielder, and even an attacking midfield presence. 

The performances we’ve seen from Nüsken in the last two weeks have been extraordinary considering she’s played at various positions from centre-back to No. 10. The German international showed a range of skills that very few players possess and none of them have her proficiency in putting in high-class displays in different positions. From defending against the formidable Bunny Shaw to putting four goals collectively past Arsenal and Ajax in the space of just two weeks is simply incredible.

Chelsea lately have been grappling with a string of injuries affecting pivotal players like Mayra Ramirez and Natalie Björn. Alongside the enduring absence of Sam Kerr and Maren Mjelde's sidelined status, Nüsken has been called upon to fill various roles. While it was anticipated that the German would thrive as a No. 6 and centre-back, her standout performances in the unconventional positions of an electrifying and dynamic No. 10, or what I would term the "Chaos 10", have come as a complete surprise to many, if not all.

How has she fared in this position and why has Nüsken been a success here?

At first glance, Sjoeke Nüsken doesn’t look like an atypical attacking midfielder who possesses a silky touch or neat control. Nüsken’s profile is instead more akin to her being suited in a deeper position, breaking up play and providing forward momentum and passing. You would think that a No. 10’s on-the-ball possession ideas would be the key characteristic, however, it’s her out-of-possession work that I want to focus on — where I think Nüsken’s primary success has come from. 

She’s made her name covering acres of space, breaking up play, and allowing her teammates the luxury of playing a more expansive style. She’s also played at centre-back for her national team which has helped to develop her defensive side. Her reading of the game has notably improved since coming to Chelsea, which has certainly been the main source of her success in the forward positions.

This season so far Emma Hayes has had to rethink her system and shape slightly due to the aforementioned injuries. The way she’s accommodated her utility players has been key in getting the best out of her remaining key players. Chelsea are one of the few squads that houses a large number of players yet still uses everyone effectively and efficiently. 

From Jelena Čanković to Hannah Hampton, each player has had a role to play at different points of the season. Even Nüsken went through a period of starting most games to being dropped for a certain passage of time before making her comeback into the side. New signings are often given adaptation time under Hayes in their first seasons with few hitting the ground running. Kerr, Kadiesha Buchanan, Melanie Leupolz, and Nüsken have all needed time to adapt.

Hayes’ current system looks to play a 4-2-3-1 in possession with a 4-4-2 out of possession that requires flexible midfielders and forwards. Nüsken playing as the second striker in the 4-4-2 becomes key to the pressing structure because it needs at least one player covering the passing lanes that Chelsea want to trap the opposition into. Some teams are persistent in playing out from the back, as was the case with both Ajax and Arsenal making multiple attempts to play through Chelsea’s press. 

Both teams had some success but they also succumbed to Chelsea’s mid-block. The two wingers would tuck in or spread out depending on the position of the ball and alongside the two central midfielders, it forces the opposition to go long or try and play through the middle where Chelsea can create a box, surrounding the opposition defensive midfielder.

When specifically focusing on Nüsken, her role as the second striker out of possession has covered for Lauren James’ lack of mobility and pressing. The English striker is excellent in possession but needs some level of covering out of it and Nüsken’s energy and reading help to compensate for this.

The emphasis on her increased coverage can be seen in Nüsken’s heat map against Ajax.

Her movement on the right-hand side is the area in which she’s moved in the most. The heavy activity through the vertical right half-space shows a drastic and intense shift out of possession; Nüsken didn’t just contribute in the forward areas but in the defensive areas too.

Take this example in the 67th minute against Ajax where Chelsea’s 4-4-2 is up against Ajax’s 4-1 build-up structure. The lone defensive midfield is positioned between Chelsea’s line of press and becomes a tantalising passing option because of the space afforded to her. This tempts the Ajax centre-back to pass through the first line of press which Nüsken reads and blocks off the initial pass inside. She runs after the ball, pushes Ajax a few yards back towards their box, and forces them to restart their build-up sequence.

Hayes wanted to focus on keeping her structure without allowing Ajax too much of the ball to dictate the state of play. A lot of the opposition movements were predicated on Chelsea’s forward press that came down to Nüsken and James’ movement off the ball.

“When you're in possession and you play against a team that man-mark, you have to move them, but you have to recognise that if you move too much you lose your own structure and in the first 15 minutes, we had both full-backs going on and we were too keen to join the play. That first 15 minutes was a little transitional, Ajax created their chance, but from then on we were in complete control of the game.” - Emma Hayes

Similarly, in the same game, Nüsken was able to intercept another pass out from the back when the Ajax centre-back lingered too much on the ball and allowed Chelsea a chance to push up and press Ajax back into their box.

Call her a No. 10, shadow striker, or pressing forward, her runs into the box have been devastating regardless. The four goals against Arsenal and Ajax showcased why Nüsken is so devastating in the opposition’s box. Though her second goal against Arsenal came off a timely deflection, the other three were essentially similar: timing runs into the box at the point of release.

If you assess her shot map from all competitions this season, you can see that the majority of Nüsken’s shots come from within the penalty area with a decent proportion originating from the six-yard box. The value of being able to take shots from such a close range comes from an innate understanding of game state, but also from an ability to finish more effectively. In close quarters, Nüsken will need to develop taking shots with one touch and that can alleviate some of the goal-scoring burden off James and Ramirez.

Hayes commented on Nüsken’s ability to crash late into the box as natural. “Nüsken has a natural ability to be in the right spaces inside the box. She's a box player, no question. She wants to be there, and the third goal epitomised her desire, her positioning and her quality”.

Arguably the most impressive goal was her second one against Ajax, where she latched onto a pinpoint cross from Guro Reiten. There were six Ajax players back in their box defending the cross, yet Nüsken’s movement between the two centre-backs was extremely well-timed as she had to be aware of the centre-back running in to mark her from behind. The German’s ability to gamble on Reiten’s cross gives her an edge on the defending side with the first centre-back unable to get an interception in, leaving Nüsken with a 50-50 chance of scoring.

Nüsken’s headed goal against Ajax was another striker’s finish. Catarina Macario’s cross was inch-perfect but it also meant Nüsken and the surrounding defenders had more time to adjust to the position of the cross. Her shimmy back into the defender to generate the space and use the speed of the cross was impressive and created the power for her to finish.

Whether this is a long-term position for Sjoeke Nüsken remains to be seen.

The return of Mayra Ramirez and Catarina Macario could push Nüsken back into her more natural No. 8/6 role with James, Macario, and Čanković all considered as the more natural attacking midfield options.

For now though, it’s a good selection headache for Hayes to have — yet another versatile goal-scoring midfielder amidst her ranks that helps to ease Chelsea’s goal-scoring issues in Kerr’s absence.

Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images