The Blues won their second game of the season with a 2-0 win over Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. Kurt Zouma scored his first league goal for Chelsea in the 53rd minute and Eden Hazard secured the game in the last minute with a shot that deflected wickedly off of Calum Chambers. Defeat could have left the home side with the unthinkable prospect of being in the bottom three by the end of the weekend but at least now it’s a step in the right direction of climbing the league table. Diego Costa was at the centre of controversy after striking out at Gabriel Paulista before the Brazilian centre-back was sent off for kicking out at the Chelsea striker moments later.
Diego will Costa us one day
It’s a subject which is dividing opinion among Chelsea fans and I’ve had disagreements with more than one fellow supporter on the subject. I’ve said since the start of the year as his temperament worsened that he would cost us by being sent off in a vital match at some point and it nearly happened today. In fact, had referee Mike Dean seen things as clearly as shown in the numerous replays then Costa would surely have been sent off for striking Gabriel in the face long before the situation between the two descended to the point it did.
I am not defending the Arsenal defender at all as he fully deserved his card but by the letter of the law Costa should have gone before then. It seems every game he is more interested in antagonising opposition defenders and collecting cards than scoring goals – something he rarely seems to do these days. I know Jose Mourinho and a large proportion of fans will stand by him but he’s not the sort of player I personally want representing our badge. If we wanted this we may as well have bought Wayne Rooney or Luis Suarez before now. I don’t buy the argument that he has to be ‘angry’ to play well as many other strikers don’t so why not buy them? Personally I’d hoped we would replace him in the summer but at the same time I didn’t think there was a good chance of that happening.
Award-worthy performance for Oscar
Since his return from injury in midweek against Maccabi Tel-Aviv Oscar has not only looked back to his skilful best but has added a more defensive side to his game. Against Arsenal not only was the Brazilian midfielder a constant attacking threat but he also showed bags of energy and tenacity in chasing down the opposition back line whenever he had a chance. He arrived from Brazil with this part of his game in place but until now has struggled to fully show it in the more physical English game. Today though I saw for the first time how he has truly changed from an attacking midfielder or advanced playmaker into an all-round advanced midfielder. There is no wonder Cesc Fabregas has had a hard time getting the number 10 position back.
Kurt Is Zou-perb
The young French centre-back showed why he is rated so highly in this hugely important clash. He’s generally rated as one for the future but for me he can play alongside Gary Cahill in defence every game, especially if he performs like this. He spotted through balls perfectly to intercept them, timed his tackles to perfection and had time to weigh in with the all-important first goal. Zouma can be at the heart of our defence for the next ten years and if we can partner him with John Stones then we certainly won’t need to dip into the centre back market again anytime soon other than for cover.
We play better without Terry
Perhaps another contentious view but from watching our attacking play in the last two matches I can see that we’ve been more creative and entertaining than in the previous games. Tactically it appears to be down to losing John Terry from the back line as it allows the four defenders to play higher up the pitch. The only reason we’ve played so deep for the last season and a bit is because our captain doesn’t have the pace to catch fast attackers if we do.
In turn that has restricted our attacking play as our creative midfield trio were receiving the ball in their own half more often than not and by the time they got to the opposition box the other team were already back defending. It also stopped us pressing the opposition back line to win the ball back. This is why we were labelled as a defensive, park the bus team last season.
In the last two games Mourinho has shown that without Terry in the side we can change our tactics, playing the back four nearer the half way line and having the attacking players close down the opposition to win the ball back much earlier. Our attacking players are already further upfield when we get the ball back therefore and you could certainly see in our play today that it gave them extra confidence to pass and move and work their way to chances around the box.
Some of the play didn’t come off as we’ve not been that good for a while but if things continue in the same fashion we can be attacking, attractive AND win games. Surely now the time has come to step forward into the new era without the Terry and start working on who can replace him in the long run in terms of the captaincy. He has been a legend in his time with the club and will no doubt be every fans list of Chelsea’s greatest players but every great thing must come to an end some time.
