Three Things: Chelsea vs. Stoke #ESPN LONDON -- Three things from Chelseas 3-0 win over Stoke at Stamford Bridge on Saturday as the Blues moved back to the top of the table. 1. At last a show of strength against weaker teams For all the angry words of the past week, this was the kind of action Jose Mourinho demanded. Chelsea arrested their recent poor run, beating Stoke City 3-0 to claim what was only their third win in the past six games. It sets them up for the final five fixtures and this increasingly enthralling title race. Just as important as such a self-rectifying result was the power of the performance. Even against a mid-table team playing out their season in the manner Stoke are, Chelsea looked at close to top level: cast-iron at the back, but building on it in breathless fashion. The passing was encouragingly crisp, some of the breaks and interchanges brilliantly worked at breakneck pace. Each goal also displayed a different quality: power for Mohamed Salahs, midfield drives for the penalty from which Frank Lampard eventually scored, and poise for Willians deliciously curled effort. The curiosity of their entire season, of course, is that displays like this generally only come against the better teams. Chelsea tend to be laboriously constrained against anyone positioned lower than the top six. Consider the last few months, since they really started to pick up speed in the title race from the start of December. Chelseas most commanding displays have come at home to Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, and away to Manchester City. By contrast, they have been conspicuously flat against the kind of clubs they should be trampling over. Look at the hard time Mourinhos side has had in defeating West Ham United, West Brom and Fulham -- and, most recently, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace. The anomaly in all of that was the vibrant 3-0 home win over Newcastle United -- and now this. This was the kind of vindictive anger Mourinho demanded, and he himself often displayed on the touchline. At one point in the first half, in a rare moment when he wasnt castigating the officials, the Chelsea manager had strong words for a chastened John Terry. The centre-back was uncharacteristically meek towards his manager, but not in his response thereafter. He was one of several Chelsea players never to let up. The key question from all of this, of course, is whether it will now mark a change in the run-in. Is this the kind of vigour Chelsea are ready to show for the rest of their games? Were the last few games the final stutter before a strident push? That remains to be seen. This, at least, made much better watching for Mourinho. 2. The new signings fully arrive As was caustically mentioned at Stamford Bridge in the immediate aftermath of this game, this exact scoreline against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday would comfortably put Chelsea into the semifinals of the Champions League. The one issue, however, is that they will be without two of this wins most decisive players: the cup-tied Nemanja Matic and Salah. While the Serbian midfielder has obviously been exerting his influence for some time, it would have pleased Mourinho to see his newest signings combine in such fashion, not least for the opening goal. The young Egyptian has started to come of age at Chelsea, and Matic is becoming one of the most influential players in the team. It seems remarkable now -- and was clearly something of a misdirection -- that Mourinho spent so much of the time between August and January maintaining he didnt need an extra defensive midfielder. There was always a gap there, but Matic has more than filled it. It is not just how he breaks up opposition attacks and reinforces the Chelsea midfield like no-one since Michael Essien at his peak; it is also how much he adds to their attacking game. Against Arsenal, there was a glorious ball over the top. Here, there was a driving run that opened up the match and set up the opening goal. On the other side, there was also the assertive manner in which Salah swept the ball into the net. This was undeniably his best performance of a brief Chelsea career so far, capped by the run in which he drew a foul from Andy Wilkinson for the penalty that sealed the game. Just at the point when the side seemed to be becoming a little short of options as a part-consequence of all Mourinhos complaining about his forwards, Salah adds a fine extra option. 3. Striking it unlucky Even if the end result moved the discussion on, there can be no escaping the weeks main talking point and the early focus of this game: Fernando Torres and his reaction to Mourinhos criticism. At his Friday press conference, the Portuguese seemed to betray a hint of regret about the extent of his complaints on Wednesday, maintaining that they werent as strong as had been made out. If his genuinely strong words were born of a nakedly emotional livid reaction, however, they did initially derive a spirited response from Torres. The Spaniard did seem like a player out to prove a point. The one problem was that it was all unfocused aggression, to go with a few moments of miscontrol. In the 23rd minute, he was presented with the kind of opening from a Stoke error he would have swept home at his peak, only to see Asmir Begovic act more quickly and smother his attack. That has been a sad theme for a player who undeniably lacks the sleekness he used to have. It is such a pity this has become the common theme of his latter career. Minutes later, only emphasising the point, Torres admirably leapt on a loose ball only to fail to bring it under proper control. There was a lot of admirable endeavour, a sad lack of end product. On this occasion, at least, the rest of Chelseas attack compensated. #Allstar
Posted on: Sat, 05 Apr 2014 20:15:18 +0000
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