How Jorginho has improved under Chelsea manager Frank Lampard
Italy and Chelsea midfielder Jorginho has been a revelation this season under Blues manager Frank Lampard.
Jorginho moved from Napoli to Chelsea in a £57m deal on a five-year contract with the club in the summer of 2018.
His first season under Maurizio Sarri for the Blues was a disappointing one. He began to constantly come under the light for the wrong reasons. Though he had played 37 games last season in the league, he could not emulate his game from his Napoli days.
Later on, after a year when Frank Lampard took over the reins at Chelsea, Jorginho has revolutionized Chelsea’s game and he has been their man to control the game.
Frank Lampard has shifted between a 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 formation for the most part of the season and Jorginho has found his way to the starting line-up each time, becoming their main force at the heart of the midfield.
Let’s take a look at Jorginho’s stats this season and compare it with his numbers from the previous season.
2018/19 season
In his first season, Jorginho played 37 matches out of the possible 38 games in the Premier League. According to whoscored, he scored only twice and did not register any assists to his name. Since he was deployed only as a defensive midfielder, Jorginho’s responsibility was to recover the ball from the opposition.
His longs balls were not accurate while trying to help the team during counter-attacks. In defensive situations, he contributed just 2.1 tackles per game and he intercepted just 1.7 times per game.
While attempting passes, he just made safe passes and was unable to make defence-splitting passes. He made only 0.8 passes per game while having an average of 89.3% passing success.
He showed a lack of intensity while trying to adapt to the conditions of the Premier League and was not able to meet the expectations of the fans.
2019/20 season
With a change in management, Jorginho slowly began to make an impression at the club. Lampard put him alongside Kovacic, mostly in a 4-2-3-1 formation where both sat deep in the midfield but were also able to move up the pitch freely.
According to whoscored, Jorginho has scored one goal so far and has assisted already assisted twice in the 11 league games he has played this season. Defensively, he has improved by making 2.5 tackles per game and has intercepted 2.1 times per game. This shows he is being more effective for Lampard’s Chelsea side.
While contributing to the team’s attack, he has made 1.1 key passes per game though his average of pass success seems to be lesser than last season, at 88.4%. That may be due to the attempts to make more key passes.
Jorginho under Lampard is back to winning ways lately despite starting the season on a low note. As one of the senior members in the squad, Lampard has also given him other responsibilities by making him the deputy to Cesar Azpilicueta.
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Verdict
Statistically, Jorginho has improved his game by being calm and collected on the field.
Thus, sticking to the plans of his manager, Jorginho has emulated his top form and proved why he was initially bought by Chelsea.