Sorry my friends! Med school life has not been kind to my free time so I have had no time to write a meaningful post…I think I may start to post small snippets and thoughts as opposed to actual analysis and posts depending on my schedule…but again my apologies.
Well in the past two weeks, we have seen our Blues storm to first place at the top of the table and a perfect start with three wins in just as many games. Before we get too excited thought, let us take a step back and think about some things. Our first two games were against Burnley and Leicester City. Respectable teams without a doubt but still at the end of the day, freshly promoted teams who will most likely be fighting to stay in the top flight this year. For Chelsea, in my opinion, it was not a question of “if” but more of a question of “by how much” when it came to the result of these games. These are the type of games that gave us trouble last year and it was very relieving for me to see Chelsea come through in emphatic fashion. The game especially against Leicester City was a strong comparison point in terms of this year and last year. The team started a little bit flat and really could not get anything going in the final third; the passing was sloppy, the decision making poor, and the runs simply not there. The Chelsea of last year would have had struggled to get a goal in the second half and may have limped to a draw. However, with the new signings of Costa and Fabregas, and the much improved talents of Schurrle and Hazard, we were able to crack the wall in front of us and cruise to a comfortable victory. This win to me has been our most important so far. We were able to finish off a lower level team and secure the three points that were expected of us.
This past week’s match against Everton was entertaining to watch no doubt but left some positive and some negatives. Starting with the positives, I think it is safe to say that the “boring, park the bus” Chelsea is long gone. Even though they gave up 6 goals, Everton by no means played a poor match, their defense may have been poor for many a stretch but they still played well. Chelsea’s attack had a fluidity and menace to it that we have not seen in a long time. There was a focus and intensity that we had lacked many a time last year. Any hint of injury to Costa was simply shrugged off as he scored a brace and improved his Premier League tally to 4 goals in just 3 games. Hazard showed that he can take over a game at any instant but he still needs to show that he is threat for the full 90 minutes…not just a 10-15 minute span. Schurrle when fully fit needs to start over Willian in my opinion. Willian was his usual workforce self but other than that he had no real impact on the game in my eyes. His passing was mediocre at best and he seemed to choose an ill-advised shot over passing and creating a chance for his teammate. Also, he lacks the instinctive runs that Schurrle brings to the table which will end up opening up space for the likes of Hazard and Fabregas to work their magic. Now, onto the negatives….defense, defense, defense. Our defense looked solid the first two weeks but was completely shredded this week. Why? I couldn’t tell you but I did notice that the majority of Everton’s goals and chances came off of crosses and set pieces. Marking the man and restricting chances are areas that do not trouble our back line. However, we seem lost and a little bit out of place when it comes to set pieces. Someone just seems to be out of position every time a goal is scored and it is never just one person. This may be a result of Courtois getting used to communicating with his backline but hopefully we do not see another performance like this. Courtois seemed a little shaky to me in this match. He had good instinct going up for the ball and intercepting but he seems to like to rush the ball back into play to push the attack. One instance he tried to throw the ball to Azpi but he ended up giving the ball away in the final third of his own pitch…He redeemed himself seconds later with a world class save but mistakes like that cannot happen against the likes of Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, or UCL calibre teams.
But at the end of day, Chelsea stand with 9 out of the possible 9 points with an astounding 11 goals scored and 4 goals against. Our offense looks like a machine that is finally gelling and raring to go and with the signing of Loic Remy our depth is also looking very good. The next few weeks should be exciting to watch and as always KTBFFH!
The Pride of London: A Fan's Take on Everything Blue 