Full Time: Chelsea 2- 0 Fulham
Jose Mourinho’s side bounced back from two consecutive defeats to beat
their cross-town rivals with goals from Oscar and John Obi Mikel.
Chelsea started
the game in a familiar 4-2-3-1 formation with their Portuguese manager wielding
the axe on 5 players of his previous starting line-up. Willian and Frank
Lampard made the bench where as David Luiz, Juan Mata and Marco Van Ginkel were
entirely omitted from the 18 man squad.
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| David Luiz will have to add consistency to his defensive game to fit into Mourinho's plans |
Martin Jol’s
side, on the other hand started the game with Scott Parker and Steve Sidwell
sitting deep to protect the defense, alongside Alexander Kacaniklic who started
on the left hand side. Former Chelsea man Damien Duff started on the right with
Pajtim Kasami the man given the
responsibility for linking up play from the deep with Darren Bent up front.
The
Pensioners started the game well by keeping possession while showing little
penetration beyond their opponent’s defensive third. Samuel Eto’o showed some
improved sharpness and incisiveness as he slipped his marker to meet a
Branislav Ivanovic cross but could only flick it away from goal when he just
needed to tap it in the net.
The first
real chance however fell the visitors’ way with Kasami exploiting a huge gap
left in the centre of the park ball and playing a well hit pass to Bent, who
found enough space to run in behind fellow England international Gary Cahill,
to find himself one on one with the keeper. His finish, however was below par, with a tame
shot being blocked by Petr Cech, who did well by not going down to ground early
on and letting the former Aston Villa and Tottenham star decide where to shoot.
Those
opportunities for either side though were the only good chances of an otherwise
flat first half, which saw Chelsea keep lots of possession in an otherwise dull
game. Their midfielders lacked off the ball movement with their intent of crisp
passing failing to materialize into any sort of a threat for an organized
Fulham back four. A hopeful Eden Hazard volley along with a powerful drive from
Ivanovic (which should have been buried in) were the only decent chances the
home side were able to muster as they began to turn on the heat in the final
ten minutes of the half. Andre Schurrle, whose presence in the starting XI has
been questioned at times ahead of Willian and Mata, completed all of his 16
passes in the first half whilst creating 3 chances, more than any other player
on the pitch.
Fulham on the
other hand, ended the half delightfully as they kept Chelsea’s expensively
assembled side at bay without having to stretch their defensive resources as
much as they would have imagined.
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| Oscar put in a shift for Chelsea.. Yet Again |
The beginning
of the second period though saw Mourinho’s side attack with more purpose as
Schurrle, who had an impressive first half, broke from the left, beating Sascha
Reither easily before shooting at goal. The shot, which was certainly not the
best he could have produced, was spilled by Stockdale and the subsequent
failure to clear the ball meant that Oscar, who was yet again at the right
place at the right time, scored his fourth goal of the season. Chances for
Sidwell (who should have equalized almost immediately), Fernando Torres (who
replaced Eto’o on the hour mark), Hazard followed in a period where Chelsea
dominated possession without threatening the goal too much, which is
unsurprising considering they were not really pressured by Fulham into
defending their well deserved lead. Bent and Kasami were both anonymous in the
second half showing the good work done by Chelsea defensively with Obi Mikel
being a stand out performer in his defensive midfield role.
The Nigerian was
sharp on the day, making his presence felt in the centre of the park by using
the ball carefully and being the ideal partner for the rather offensive minded Ramires.
No wonder it was a surprise for one and all when he latched onto a John Terry
header to volley home the second for the Blues in the 84th minute of
the game.
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| Obi Mikel scored his frst Premier League goal in 185 appearances |
It definitely
secured all three points for the Blues, in the process silencing some critics
about Juan Mata’s consistent absence in his line ups. The Spanish
international, who was the Player of the season for the Londoners for the past
two seasons, has not played a crucial role thus far this season, with the Portuguese
manager questioning his defensive work rate.
| Mata will need to increase his work rate defensively to come back to the fold |
Often lacking some quickness when Chelsea lose the ball, Mata usually offers little coming back, there by significantly reducing the chance of the team winning the ball back within no time. Mourinho, as suggested by his post match comments, desires exactly that kind of hard work from his players which at the moment, Oscar is providing him with. His presence, thus, is justified from their coach’s ambition of the style of play. For the records, Oscar won the ball back an astounding 6 times against Fulham, more than any other player on the pitch, thus being correctly judged as the man of the match, at least for a certain Portuguese.
Written By,
Aman Arora
Aman writes for Goal India and 18 Yard Box. What did you think about the game? Discuss with the author at @aman_ghs or drop in your comments below
