Towards
the end of last season, Chelsea had become accustomed to dropping
points in matches that they were expected to win. After the defeat at
Selhurst Park in March, Jose Mourinho noted on a journalist's pad what
Chelsea were missing most were "balls". Seven months on and they headed
into Saturday's derby without their striker and his dodgy hamstring --
but did anyone really notice?
Under
the leadership of a new manager, Palace approached Chelsea as they had
the last time out - with a great deal of physicality. Not having to
contend with Chelsea's Sprazilian only added to Palace's
confidence as they looked to strike early, causing a good deal of
disturbance in front of Thibaut Courtois early on. However the threat on
Courtois’ goal was short lived.
It was only minutes into the game
when Palace's physical approach started to become their undoing as
Damien Delaney fouled Willian leading to Chelsea's opening goal. As
Delaney continued to boldly introduce himself to many of Chelsea's
players it was apparent that he'd not see out the game let alone the
half. Delaney was sent off moments after Azpilicueta saw red for a
needless and nasty challenge on Jedinak, quickly evening out the
numerical advantage they temporarily held.
With
just 18 outfield players left on the field, even more space opened up
for Chelsea to impose their game upon Crystal Palace. This was a
different Chelsea to the one that had come to Selhurst Park in March. In
his post-match press conference Mourinho said “Today, from minute one
to minute 94 we imposed our game, we were always in control. I think we
played very, very well.”
Chelsea
controlled the possession (72%) and looked like a cat toying with a
mouse before it decides it's ready to go in for the kill. The play
between Oscar, Hazard and Fàbregas for Chelsea's second of the afternoon
was so fluid that Mourinho described the goal as a "scandal". The
Chelsea juggernaut continues to roll on this season with much "bigger
balls".
Although there were a number of standout performances, including that of the overlooked Serbian wall that is Nemanja Matic.
Not only does he protect the back four, allowing the rest of the
midfield to press high, but he's constantly looking to keep pressing the
play forward himself. All the while, on Saturday it was Oscar who gave
the best performance.
When
Mourinho first arrived on the scene last year he looked to set up his
team based around the inherent skills and potential that Oscar seemed to
hold. But with one eye constantly on Brazil 2014 those performances
never quite developed as Mourinho had hoped. Saturday's game, however,
highlighted the player that Mourinho suspected was in Oscar all along.
Not
only was he directly involved in both goals - first with the stunning
free-kick and then the assist for Fàbregas' first league goal in blue -
but was incisive all over the pitch. If Fàbregas made a run forward with
Hazard, Oscar instinctively dropped back to help Matic just ahead of
the defence. He made more tackles than any other player on the pitch
(5), including the maestro in Premier League tackles Mile Jedinak.
With
Mourinho's men coming together as they did against an excellent and
physical Palace side, it appears that Diego Costa and his dubious
hamstring are a luxury more than a necessity to a very formidable team.
Apparently all that was ever needed was "big balls".
Originally published on WhoScored.com
No comments:
Post a Comment