Ahead of the top table clash between leaders Chelsea and 2nd placed Arsenal; these are the 5 things we learnt from our game against Manchester United:
1) Hazard must win PFA Player of the year
Chelsea only needed one chance to beat Manchester United. Jose Mourinho knew it, Chelsea knew it, and decisive Eden Hazard certainly knew it.
Some good work running down the line by Cesc Fabregas followed by a pass to Oscar, who then proceeded to back heel the ball into the path of the surging Eden Hazard, who calmly finished what was his 13th goal of the campaign through the legs of the helpless De Gea. As Chelsea fans, we’re finally beginning to see the Eden Hazard that could potentially become the world’s best player in a few years and certainly the player no more deserving of the PFA Award.
Hazard’s talent has always been there, but there has been just criticism over certain parts of his game since he joined the Blues in 2012. Hazard was not adding enough goals and assists; his consistency seemed to need a little work not to mention his lack of defensive work, which was highlighted by Jose Mourinho last season. This year it seems the Belgian has taken the criticism on the chin and finally begun to show that world class potential that has gotten him compared to the supernatural Ronaldo and Messi
Let us not be mistaken- Hazard is not at the level of Ronaldo or Messi yet, but he is slowly getting there.
In his first season at Stamford Bridge, the highly rated Belgian registered 17 goals and 21 assists in 62 appearances. Last season he registered 20 goals and 10 assists in 49 games. This season Hazard has already topped his goal tally with 18 goals and 10 assists, and is on course for his first 20 plus goal season for the Blues.
What is most impressive with the diminutive Belgian is his ever improving abilities to decide games with a moment of magic.
Whether it be finishing, assisting (i.e. against QPR) or beating a man to create an opportunity, Hazard is without doubt the best in the Premier League, whilst at the same time slowly moving into the “Messi and Ronaldo” bracket.
What next for Eden Hazard? Almost certainly a league title and PFA Player of the year award, but hopefully for Chelsea fans a Champions League guided by the new “Zola” and potentially a Ballon D’or for the star at the Bridge.
2) Zouma a steal at £12m
As a Chelsea fan, how can you not love Zouma?
The tank of a Frenchman works hard, gets stuck in, is incredibly diligent and goes about his business quietly. Over and above all, the most encouraging thing is that we can see the Frenchman improving game by game. From starting Capital one cup games and FA cup ties, the Frenchman has come such a long way from the beginning of the season, and is on the periphery of the starting XI.
At the beginning of the season, it seemed Zouma was in the squad to learn from Terry and Cahill, but fast forward to the business part of the season and he’s competing with the latter for a spot in the starting XI. When Mourinho purchased Zouma, he was very happy with Zouma’s physical presence, but was unhappy with his tactical knowledge of the game. Mourinho was very happy to keep Zouma on board so that he could learn, with the young Frenchman playing Carling cup and FA Cup games almost exclusively, but as we near the end of the season, it seems as though Zouma has become one of Chelsea’s most important players, whether it be in defence or midfield. This is not by chance, but rather because of his discipline and willingness to learn and contribute to the team. Case and point, the game against Manchester United. Zouma’s job was to nullify the threat of Fellaini, and he did his job superbly- Fellaini did not have a sniff for the whole 90 minutes at the bridge.
This is highlighted by the fact that Zouma has of late been thrown into midfield, and every time he has played there he has without doubt been one of the best players on the pitch. Eden Hazard aside, you could even say Zouma was the best player on the pitch against United. He got stuck in, challenged every ball and was defensively disciplined for the duration of the 90 minutes- a true Mourinho player. He dominated United’s most dangerous player this season, having only played in midfield a few times this season. It also does not seem like a once off performance, earlier in the season against Manchester City, Zouma managed to effectively contain one of the world’s best strikers, Sergio Aguero.
Oh, and the boy is just 20 years old. The boy has world class potential and has been likened to former Blues favourite, Marcel Desailly. Of course, he still has a long way to go, but going at the rate he’s going, he’s going to be a very important player for both France and Chelsea. It seems as if Chelsea got a steal for £12 million.
3) Oscar still a vital member of the squad
Over the past few months there has been rumours that Chelsea would be willing to offload Oscar with Juventus said to be particularly interested. There has also been reports that Chelsea would even interested in offering Cash plus Oscar to secure the signing of Paul Pogba.
Amidst all these rumours, Mourinho has himself ruled out the sale of Oscar, as both he and Chelsea fans know he still has a big role to play in the Chelsea team, case and point: his clever back heeled assist to Eden Hazard for the winner against United.
Oscar often comes under criticism (unjustly) for his consistency and volatile form, but we must also bear in mind the amount of games he plays for both club and country. In the 2012/2013 season alone Oscar played a total of 64 games for Chelsea, excluding Brazil’s international friendlies and their appearance at the London 2012 Olympics.
It is unfair and irrational to expect Oscar to play 64 plus games and be a game-changer every single time. That is incredible amount of games for any player, let alone a 23 year old first teamer. He clearly suffers from fatigue, and with the addition of Fabregas and possibly another midfielder in the summer, the creative burden has somewhat been lifted off of Oscar which has and will continue to improve other parts of his game.
People also forget that Oscar is still only 23 years old, and still has plenty of time and room for improvement. Oscar is arguably a few years away from being a world class midfielder, and has shown flashes of this potential, such as his classy dink around Pirlo followed by a top corner finish against Buffon in last season’s Champions league.
We can already see Oscar is becoming a better overall player. He’s chipping in with more goals and assists each season and is generally performing better and more consistently this season. One must also not underestimate his defensive contribution, as this is one of the main reasons Mourinho entrusted the Brazilian over former Chelsea number 10, Juan Mata.
Oscar’s work ethic and high pressing allows us to play counter attacking football very effectively since his high pressing forces the opposition’s defence to lose the ball or play long.
Oscar is improving every season, and if we compare his record this season to club Legend Lampard’s age 23 season, we see that Oscar has scored 1 more goal than Lampard, but also provided 6 extra assists already so far his season. While, I while will not jump the gun and say Oscar is the next Lampard, it seems as if the number 8 is in good hands and should continue to be for a long time at Stamford Bridge.
4) Chelsea need another striker in the summer
There’s been a bit of a striker Injury crisis at Chelsea of late, with Costa and Remy having been ruled ahead of the Manchester United clash, which left us with only Didier Drogba and 17 year old Dominic Solanke. Reports earlier this week even suggest the trio of Drogba, Remy and Costa could are racing to be fit for Chelsea’s game against Arsenal on Sunday.
We currently have three top strikers in our ranks: Diego Costa, Loic Remy and Didier Drogba, but personally, I feel as though it’s time that Drogba calls it a day at the Bridge. Do not get me wrong- I love Didier. He’s a top professional, role model, club legend and one my favourite Chelsea players of all time, not to mention the confidence and experience he brings to the squad that no amount of talent could ever bring.
However, looking at Drogba’s performances this season, especially of late, it is quite clear that the Ivorian is battling to play at the top level in the Premier league. A woeful performance against London rivals QPR, followed by an uninspired performance against Manchester United. It is fair to say that his playing career at the bridge must surely be over. That being said, Drogba still has plenty to offer Chelsea in other areas. His experience, professionalism and attitude is something that should be drilled into the youngsters and embodied into the ethos of the club. This could be the perfect opportunity for Drogba to become a club ambassador or coach in the making- arguably even a player coach in crisis injury times such as now.
While I do think that we need to replace Drogba, I am completely against spending £20 million plus on the likes of Icardi or Dybala to play second fiddle to Costa.
It makes more sense to recruit in-house. Patrick Bamford is Championship player of the season having scored 17 goals in the league for Middlesbrough. Surely he should be given a chance ahead of buying another striker and potentially blocking the path for both Bamford and Solanke in the near future. We also have Loic Remy on our books, who is a very good striker. He gets himself into good positions and is quite the lethal finisher. I honestly believe that if Remy started he could get us 20 a season.
Mourinho has spoken about integrating the youth into the first team and giving Chelsea’s youngsters a chance. In the summer, there’s no better opportunity to do this with the aging Drogba nearing the end of his career.
Step up Bamford and Solanke (or whichever striker Chelsea end up buying) – it’s your turn to shine.
5) Mourinho big game master
33% possession, 2 shots on target, 3 corners as opposed to United’s 7, yet still Chelsea came out on top against Manchester United. Mourinho knows how to do it- he knows how to win big games.
Whether it’s in Milan, Madrid or even in London. Time and time again, we see Mourinho outthinks the opponent and get results when they’re needed. This season has been a prime example. Against the big teams, Chelsea tend to defend deep and play on the counter. He knows this, the opponent knows this, yet Mourinho always seems to somehow outfox the manager in the opposition dugout to get the required result.
Mourinho knows how to set up teams in order to get a result- the most important, yet underrated managerial skill. A lot of people tend to think setting up games is just picking the starting XI and letting the players do the talking, but that’s not the case.
Mourinho prepares his team depending on the opponent and gives each and every player a specific job which they generally perform to aplomb. You can see out on the pitch that the players are disciplined and focused- it really looks like they willing to leave the pitch bleeding for him (Cough Cough, Ivanovic).
Tactically, there are very few, if any better than Mourinho. A prime example is thrusting young Zouma into midfield, a job he has performed spectacularly, or switching Azpilicueta onto his less favoured right side, who has arguably become the best left back in the Premier League. In big games, it doesn’t matter how you play- all that matters is the result, and no one knows this better than Mourinho. It’s all good and well to play free flowing football or tiki-taka in big games, but in 10 years, the result and the impeding Premier League trophy are the only things that would be remembered. This is something Mourinho knows too well, and will certainly be remembered for.
If there’s ever a manager you would want in charge of your team for a big game, it’s Jose Mourinho- and luckily he’s at Stamford Bridge and on course to bring the Premier League trophy to Stamford Bridge for the fourth time.
