I don't have a big problem with him playing it safe away, and not attacking in big numbers to protect the defense. Fine, as long as it doesn't become the norm, he can play that way, but in order to be successful like that you have to thick some other boxes, like:
1) Don't allow teams to be more dangerous while having the ball way less than you. It's true that Chelsea's chances were long range attempts, but all of those weren't from 30m. They were from right near the 16m box. an area you have to block very well. We failed to do that repeatedly.
2) Accelerate when you have a bit of space. We didn't do that too often because it takes talent and character to drive forward with the ball. Rakitic and Paulinho are poor on the ball. Iniesta is too old. Best solution is to integrate Dembele as fast as possible and work on him to be more defensively disciplined.
If you don't want to bring a lot of men forward so you don't leave space behind, then make sure the 3-4 players that have the licence to carry attacks and go deep in the other team's half are fast and can penetrate the lines of the opponent. Rakitic sometimes has to courage to do that, but doesn't do it consistently. It has to be a very obvious situation for him to do it, like when Kovacic basically invited him to.
3) Be strong at set pieces and cut down any blunders. Being bad at marking players is a fatal mistake for a team that plays it safe, more towards defensive. We have moments when our marking is not the best, and, besides that, we have several players capable of cheap giveaways. Roberto, Pique, Stegen, even Busquets. Neither of those players is a naturally gifted defender who can shine at absorbing pressure.
4) Be clinical. This is something we have managed to be so far, and it's one of the main reasons why our season is great result-wise. We create less chances than in the past, but we convert them. So far, goals are coming with relatively few chances created.
5) Be aggressive. Most defensive teams apply great pressure on the opponent's first touch. You rarely get a yellow for that. This is something that we improved on as well. We're more nasty in physical duels, and this has to continue in the future to achieve success with this way of playing.
6) Learn to play on the 2nd ball. One of the best ways to create danger with few players in attack is to position yourself in such a way that you get fast access to any poor touch from the opponent, or any poor clearance. When you attack with fewer players, you can try riskier passes. The other team winning the ball very close to their goal is not as much of an issue.
The problem for me is that Valverde wants to play a certain way, but most of the attributes you need to have as a team to go really deep in CL playing in such a way, are just not there. Some have been implemented by Valverde, and some areas are a work in progress. But, at the same time, I don't see us magically becoming a defensive beast of a team. So far we haven't played a single top class team in full form. Like a Bayern, or a Man City, or even a CL-form Madrid.
The big issue of Valverde however is how do you play in such a way, and just turn it on and become a great offensive team when you need to? Negative possession is not going to work against the tough teams. They will create danger when they get it, and even 30% of the ball is enough during a match to create 4-5 big chances if you have the right players.
