Schurrle vs. Willian: Who deserves to be the first choice?
In a new look Chelsea with a strong team, there is heavy competition for spots in the starting eleven. Some are so hard that it is very disappointing to see the players being benched. One such instance last time out was Juan Mata playing second fiddle to Oscar and was heartbreaking to the fans but they wouldn’t have wanted Oscar to be benched as well. Such selection headaches are a luxury to the manager as it is a very strong situation to be in, with some top quality first team players as the substitutes. Here we have a statistical comparison(per 90 metrics) between Andre Schurrle and Willian, two players who were rotated in the wide midfield spot in Chelsea’s attacking midfield.
Schurrle:
Goals: 0.54
Assists: 0.14
Chances Created: 1.96
Key Passes: 1.83
Pass Completion: 83%
Successful Take-Ons: 1.29
Successful Take-Ons %: 38%
Willian:
Goals: 0.21
Assists: 0.11
Chances Created: 3.43
Key Passes: 3.33
Pass Completion: 86%
Successful Take-Ons: 2.04
Successful Take-Ons %: 56.72%
(Stats take from squawka)
Willian is likely to be first choice
The Brazilian edges the German World Cup winner in midfield aspects of play. Willain creates more chances (3.43 in comparison of Schurrle’s 1.96) and Key Passes (3.33 in comparison of Schurrle’s 1.83) and also edges Hazard’s 2.87 and 2.65 respectively. Willian and Schurrle are different types of players. While Schurrle is more of a finisher and a forward based player, Willian generally drops deeper in midfield and likes to gel with other midfielders.
Both of them provide good work-rate but Willian’s work rate is much rawer in comparison to Schurrle’s and has the ability to totally dominate the midfield as a box to box attacking midfielder. His close control and burst of pace means that he is a very important player for counter attacks. He is the one who is the engine of the counter attacks, while Schurrle is actually the one who finishes off moves. Willian has notched 2.04 successful take-ons with a strong success rate of 56.72% which is ahead of Schurrle’s 1.29 and 38 % respectively. Willian is a player who contributes as a midfielder and not as a forward, something which Mourinho would consider as a first choice in attacking midfield.
Schurrle likely to be a regular substitute
There is a very high possibility of Andre Schurrle getting regular substitute game time. When introduced at 60 minutes against a tiring defence, Andre Schurrle can wreak havoc with his raw pace and shooting. He is known to be very clinical and has an eye for the goal even from distance. He may not have the close control of Willian to be termed as a classic dribbler but he would look to beat a player and have a go at the goal. Schurrle found his best form whenever he got a starting berth, as he scored 7 in 10 starts, something which can work for his cause in many matches in the coming seasons. The strong point in Schurrle’s style is his ability to get in behind the defence from the wide positions and shooting from both the feet, which can be lethal with Cesc Fabregas running the midfield and providing continuous through passes to players.
Final Verdict:
In most conditions, Chelsea cannot use someone like Schurrle as a first choice in all matches because of the lack of space behind the defences of the comparatively weaker teams (who like to defend deep). In most matches where Schurrle was chosen, the teams had defences that were in shambles and were playing without fear. One prime example would be Schurrle’s well taken hat trick against Fulham. The Fulham fullbacks were providing Schurrle acres of space while the central defenders were hardly checking his runs, something which worked well in his favour. Even in the match against Man City where he scored his first goal, Schurrle and Torres got a lot of space to run and wreak havoc.
The prime reason for Willian being preferred would be his technical ability, his movement with the ball as well as his unbelievable ability to be extraordinarily tireless in midfield, helping the team to contain, press and counter attack at will.