A Blue Up North reviews Chelsea’s return to winning ways.
Monday evening saw Chelsea return to Stamford Bridge and a Premier League match against West Bromwich Albion. After 2 consecutive heavy losses to Bournemouth and Watford, The Blues were not only eager for the win, but also needed a performance that justified their status as current champions and to show that they are still one of the country’s best teams.
A home tie against the side currently lying bottom of the league who have only registered 1 win in their last 25 league matches, a run that stretches back to August, would usually be a relatively straight forward affair, with victory a formality. However, Chelsea have suffered at the hands of less fancied sides in the league this season, epitomised by their last 2 outings. The Blues have only won twice this year and poor recent showings have clearly drained confidence from the side.
At least there was some good news for Conte before the kick off. Andreas Christensen returned to the back 3, while Olivier Giroud was deemed fit enough to start and top goal scorer Alvaro Morata was named as a substitute. The Italian also decided to reinstate Antonio Rudiger and Cesc Fabregas to the starting line up in what was an attack minded 3-4-3.
The visitors started brightly and not even the set back of losing Daniel Sturridge inside the first 3 minutes did not hinder their stride as they played with great purpose. The home side struggled to get a foothold in the match and there were some nervous moments amongst their defence. None more so than when Jay Rodriguez was through on goal, but he wasted his chance and put his effort wide.
It was a miss that Chelsea and, in particular, Eden Hazard pounced upon. Having worked through their early jitters, the home side started to grow in stature. With Olivier Giroud playing as the focal point for most of the Chelsea forward play, Hazard was able to find space in some great attacking positions. Then on 25 minutes, they played a delightful 1-2 on the edge of the box and the Belgian rifled in the opening goal.
Although the confidence did not exactly flow back into the champions, a certain amount of relief was lifted from them. Their play started to flow better than in recent matches, while their defence looked more in control and an all round tighter unit. Rondon and Evans did have chances for The Baggies but Chelsea were far stronger than in the recent losses and limited the visitors to only 1 attempt on target all match.
Victor Moses made it 2-0 with his second goal in his last 3 league appearances, but it was left to the mercurial Hazard to finish off the scoring with a sublime bullet of a shot that caught Ben Foster too far away from his near post.
Under pressure manager Antonio Conte needed his big players to turn up and most answered the call. Cesar Azpilicueta was the epitome of what was required. His defensive covering was immense whilst he vocally supported his teammates as all good captains need to especially when the team are trying to rebuild belief.
Andreas Christensen was calmness personified and rarely puts a foot wrong despite his young age. N’Golo Kante once again broke up so much of the opposition’s play whilst his midfield partner Cesc Fabregas was constantly trying to build forward movement for The Blues and his efforts were rewarded with a lovely assist for Moses’ goal. Giroud, in his first start for Chelsea, was all that Conte would have been looking for in a second striker for his squad. The Frenchman gave his all for the cause. He hustled and bullied his markers, made himself available to his teammates and linked play well. His only flaw was in not taking either of his chances.
However, Chelsea have no bigger player than Hazard. Once again he was the epicentre of all of the champion’s best play. With 2 goals and 7 key passes in the match, the Belgian will be Chelsea’s best chance of retrieving their best form and truly put in a challenge of either winning a cup or enhancing their top 4 place in the league this season. His importance to the squad is unquestionable and long may his footballing talents be displayed in the Chelsea blue.
Conte will be pleased with the result but he will take pride in watching his side battle against their own football demons and have the character to bounce back with a strong win. The home crowd certainly showed their backing to their manager who they believe is the best man to lead the team back to levels they displayed last season. And with a run of very tough matches looming on the horizon the sooner they show that form the better for all who follow The Blues.
Written by Jon Ellis. Follow him on Twitter @ClitheroeBlue
