Its the back end of the premier league season and Chelsea have secured the title with three games remaining, the first of which ending in a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at the Bridge today. It was the perfect time to rest some of the regulars such as Hazard, Terry and Ivanovic. At least one would think so. However, these players are ruthless and will do anything to play each and every minute during the season. And so they did feature in today's game. Players such as Cahill, Matic, Ramires and Azpillicueta were given rests. Cahill did not get to watch from the sidelines too long as his replacement Kurt Zouma suffered a first half knee injury. Chelsea youngster Ruben Loftus-Cheek was given his first league start and he did not disappoint. The 19 year old gave a disciplined and honest performance and ended up with a 100% passing accuracy playing in the Matic type role alongside Mikel. Loftus-Cheek and Zouma are definitely two of the players to look forward to in the future and could expect great things from the two during the following season.
One could say that Chelsea were not given much of a fight in their bid to regain the title after 5 years. It is true to some extent as the likes of City, United and Arsenal performed under par for large parts of the season. The form was replicated in Europe as well with no English teams making it to the quarter finals of the Champions League. That is a great rarity given the recent dominance of English teams in the competition. Just look back at the 2007-2008 season when Chelsea, United and Liverpool were in the last four and the 2008-2009 season with Chelsea, United and Arsenal in the last four. The standard seems to have dropped slightly since the start of the new decade.
Despite 2 league title wins for Man City, they have not been able to shine in Europe as they have constantly found it difficult against the top European teams. Chelsea's Champions League win in 2012 was almost a miracle given their depleted squad, managerial changes and fortunate moments throughout the campaign. But the truth is that Chelsea have dominated the league this year from start to finish. Actually, they are ending the season on a slight low compared to their flying start to the campaign. Much of that is owed to Diego Costa's niggling hamstring injuries and tiring of players due to Chelsea's thin squad. Maintaining a thin squad allowed Mourinho to keep as many regulars in the starting 11 which eventually took it's toll during the Christmas period as signs of fatigue appeared. Losses to Newcastle and Spurs lifted the hopes of contenders such as City and United. However, these proved to be merely blips in an otherwise exceptional campaign.
After the new year, Chelsea were not able to maintain the high tempo exhibited by them during the first 4 months. The first half of the season saw Chelsea scoring goals at will with Costa spear heading the attack and Fabregas pulling the strings from midfield. Hazard and Willian were given the freedom to terrorize the opponents' defense with their creativity, exquisite control and sudden bursts of blistering pace. Similar to Arjen Robben and Damien Duff during the 2004/2005 season, Hazard and Willian would constantly change flanks and drift inwards towards the center whenever needed. This ability to switch to a playmaker role made these two players extremely difficult to handle. With Matic and Fabregas providing solidity in the center of midfield, the likes of Oscar or Ramires were able to supply the front three and score themselves.
Despite 2 league title wins for Man City, they have not been able to shine in Europe as they have constantly found it difficult against the top European teams. Chelsea's Champions League win in 2012 was almost a miracle given their depleted squad, managerial changes and fortunate moments throughout the campaign. But the truth is that Chelsea have dominated the league this year from start to finish. Actually, they are ending the season on a slight low compared to their flying start to the campaign. Much of that is owed to Diego Costa's niggling hamstring injuries and tiring of players due to Chelsea's thin squad. Maintaining a thin squad allowed Mourinho to keep as many regulars in the starting 11 which eventually took it's toll during the Christmas period as signs of fatigue appeared. Losses to Newcastle and Spurs lifted the hopes of contenders such as City and United. However, these proved to be merely blips in an otherwise exceptional campaign.
After the new year, Chelsea were not able to maintain the high tempo exhibited by them during the first 4 months. The first half of the season saw Chelsea scoring goals at will with Costa spear heading the attack and Fabregas pulling the strings from midfield. Hazard and Willian were given the freedom to terrorize the opponents' defense with their creativity, exquisite control and sudden bursts of blistering pace. Similar to Arjen Robben and Damien Duff during the 2004/2005 season, Hazard and Willian would constantly change flanks and drift inwards towards the center whenever needed. This ability to switch to a playmaker role made these two players extremely difficult to handle. With Matic and Fabregas providing solidity in the center of midfield, the likes of Oscar or Ramires were able to supply the front three and score themselves.
Oscar seemed to be a revelation at the start of the season with Andre Schurrle falling out of favor with Mourinho. He managed to score some spectacular and match winning goals which cemented his place just behind the front three. But his time in that role was cut short after the new year with Fabregas often moving into the attacking midfield position with Ramires taking up the position besides Matic.
The January arrival of Juan Cuadrado from Fiorentina further caused Oscar to lose his place in the starting 11. There have been talks of letting Oscar go in the summer. If that is the case, there will definitely be suitors waiting to garner the services of the exciting Brazilian midfielder. It is thought provoking that Juan Mata was allowed to leave for United last January to make place for Oscar in the attacking midfield role. This was seen by many as a questionable decision, especially due to the fact that Mata had been Chelsea's player of the year in two consecutive seasons including the 2012 Champions League winning season. Now he is an integral part of the United midfield.
The January arrival of Juan Cuadrado from Fiorentina further caused Oscar to lose his place in the starting 11. There have been talks of letting Oscar go in the summer. If that is the case, there will definitely be suitors waiting to garner the services of the exciting Brazilian midfielder. It is thought provoking that Juan Mata was allowed to leave for United last January to make place for Oscar in the attacking midfield role. This was seen by many as a questionable decision, especially due to the fact that Mata had been Chelsea's player of the year in two consecutive seasons including the 2012 Champions League winning season. Now he is an integral part of the United midfield.
The bottom line is that Chelsea have emerged through these complications and registered a string of hard fought wins in the last 16 games to seal the title. During these 16 games, Chelsea have conceded just 9 goals and have lost none. To achieve something like this after a drop in performance is a great feat as we often see top teams struggle to regain the match winning form after a mid season dip in performance. The best example is Arsenal during the 2007/2008 as everyone knows.
Nemanja Matic has been a revelation this season with solid consistent performances throughout the season. At the age of 25, he has shown tremendous maturity to protect Chelsea's defense and support Fabregas. His absence was direly felt during the defeat to Newcastle in December. With Matic in the team, the rest of the players get a sense of protection and are free to express themselves in the best possible way. John Terry had arguably the best season of his Chelsea career. That is difficult to believe as he is 34 years old and has been performing at a high level for over 10 years.
Cahill has been a wall in defense with the young Zouma desperately knocking on the door for a place at center back. However, Mourinho has found an alternate role for Zouma in defensive mid as shown by his performances in the FA cup semis and the final. As a defensive midfielder, he tends to play right in between the defense and midfield like Claude Makelele used. Matic likes to play besides Fabregas, Ramires or Mikel while providing a bit more creativity and support to the forwards as opposed to Zouma. In any case, Zouma seems like a versatile player for the future and his immense size itself could prove daunting for opponents. His partnership with Raphael Varane of Real Madrid could be a lucrative partnership in the center of the French national team defense for several years to come.
Cahill has been a wall in defense with the young Zouma desperately knocking on the door for a place at center back. However, Mourinho has found an alternate role for Zouma in defensive mid as shown by his performances in the FA cup semis and the final. As a defensive midfielder, he tends to play right in between the defense and midfield like Claude Makelele used. Matic likes to play besides Fabregas, Ramires or Mikel while providing a bit more creativity and support to the forwards as opposed to Zouma. In any case, Zouma seems like a versatile player for the future and his immense size itself could prove daunting for opponents. His partnership with Raphael Varane of Real Madrid could be a lucrative partnership in the center of the French national team defense for several years to come.
It is safe to say that Branislav Ivanovic is one of the first picks in the starting 11. Initially deployed as center back, he has been mainly used in right back by Mourinho for the last two seasons to great effect. He is an unusual choice at right back due to his huge built and lack of pace. But he more than compensates for his reduced pace with excellent anticipation, strength, height and experience. Compared to Azpillicueta in the opposite position at left back, he tends to play higher up the field, ceasing every opportunity to attack. He scored in the first game of the season at Burnley and also scored a stunner at Aston Villa. His presence and lack of injuries has been crucial during the title chase.
Thibaut Curtois has removed any doubts about whether is capable of fitting into the massive shoes of Petr Cech. Curtois is a better shot stopper than Cech with slightly more height. Having had the taste of a La Liga win with Athletico Madrid and a run to the Champions League final, he came back to Chelsea with immense experience at a young age. It is safe to say that he could occupy the goal keeper position at Chelsea for the next 10 years just as Cech did.
Thibaut Curtois has removed any doubts about whether is capable of fitting into the massive shoes of Petr Cech. Curtois is a better shot stopper than Cech with slightly more height. Having had the taste of a La Liga win with Athletico Madrid and a run to the Champions League final, he came back to Chelsea with immense experience at a young age. It is safe to say that he could occupy the goal keeper position at Chelsea for the next 10 years just as Cech did.
Despite the excellent league performance, Chelsea were not able to replicate that form in Europe, falling to PSG in the round of 16. Having taken the lead twice during the 2nd leg at Stamford Bridge , the Blues should have comfortably secured the win at home but they were complacent which allowed the French champions to claw back twice during the tie to go ahead on away goals. For a team of Chelsea's prowess, this is a huge disappointment. Chelsea were being tipped to at least reach the semi finals along with European giants Real, Bayern and Barca. Chelsea's spot is now occupied by Italian champions Juventus who have a 2-1 lead over Real going into the 2nd leg.
In the domestic cup front, Chelsea managed to bag the Capital One cup against Spurs but failed to beat lowly Bradford City in the FA cup at home falling to a 4-2 defeat after leading 2-0. Looking back at the season, clinching two trophies is a great achievement despite the disappointment of Europe. Mourinho must be itching to clinch a European trophy with Chelsea ever since their semi final exits to Liverpool in 2005 and 2007 under Mourinho, the 2005 tie ending under controversial circumstances. Next season provides yet another opportunity for Mourinho to clinch his 3rd Champions League trophy and his first with Chelsea. The summer transactions will be interesting to see with many players in Europe up for grabs.
In the domestic cup front, Chelsea managed to bag the Capital One cup against Spurs but failed to beat lowly Bradford City in the FA cup at home falling to a 4-2 defeat after leading 2-0. Looking back at the season, clinching two trophies is a great achievement despite the disappointment of Europe. Mourinho must be itching to clinch a European trophy with Chelsea ever since their semi final exits to Liverpool in 2005 and 2007 under Mourinho, the 2005 tie ending under controversial circumstances. Next season provides yet another opportunity for Mourinho to clinch his 3rd Champions League trophy and his first with Chelsea. The summer transactions will be interesting to see with many players in Europe up for grabs.
An important thing to note is that United are finishing the season strong and have built up a regular starting 11 which they direly needed. The only concern for United is their defense which has not been the same after the departures of Evra, Vidic and Ferdinand. With the likes of Hummels, Vidal and Strootman being linked to United, expect United to directly challenge Chelsea next season. Van Gaal is a shrewd manager and probably the ideal man to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson, bringing in similar managerial experience. But for the moment, Chelsea can grab the champagne from the ice and watch as the scuffle for the Champions League spots heats up between City, Arsenal and United.
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