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Scolari Style Sees Chelsea Ease Past Villa

CHELSEA 2 – 0 VILLA

Chelsea may be a little ravaged by injuries right now but it has to be said that wasn’t apparent as we cruised to a 2-0 win at home to Villa yesterday.

We’d already started the game without Drogba, Deco, Carvalho, Essien and Alex, who evidently still hadn’t recovered from a sore backside, and the second half saw us lose both Anelka and Joe Cole. And yet, against an in-form Villa side, we put in one of our most convincing wins of the season so far.

First half goals from Joe Cole and Nicolas Anelka sealed the win but that was far from the whole story in the first 45 minutes where Brad Friedel saved Villa from a proper drubbing. The first-half saw Friedel saving shots from Lampard, Malouda and Ballack, as well as Anelka hitting the bar, with Chelsea more or less camped out in Villa’s half.

Very rarely did Chelsea concede possession and even when they did it was never very long before they’d put the work in to get it back. The passing and movement, along with a decent performance from the ref, allowed the game to flow although sadly for Villa, the flow was always in their direction.

Anelka, who for me, had one of his best 45-minute periods in a Chelsea shirt, failed to return after the break, making way for Franco Di Santo, and it wasn’t long before a heavy challenge saw Joe Cole seeking treatment for an ankle injury which minutes later forced another Chelsea substitution in the form of Salomon Kalou. As if testament to Anelka’s contribution in the first half, his absence was notable in the second. Not that Friedel wasn’t made to earn his crust again though, in a game that saw Chelsea take 61% of the possession with 27 attempts at goal and 14 on target to Villa’s 1. As the game wound down, a spectacular overhead kick from Kalou was ruled out for offside, had it stood, it would’ve summed up one of Chelsea’s most convincing performances this season.

Following the game, which marked Chelsea’s 86th unbeaten at home, Scolari agreed this was Chelsea’s best performance of the season. The beaming Brazilian told Sky Sports, “I am satisfied because we played very well and for me it’s the most important game in the season because if we win we are in first position in the league and we have now a minimum of ten days to recuperate our players. Afterwards when we start the league after 10 or 15 days we are all in good condition.”  A little optimistic on that front maybe, but still, he goes on “This is most important for us and we can continue from first position in the league, still top in the Champions League and in the next round of the Carling Cup. What more could I want? Nothing.”

However, in recognition of what has often been a millstone round Chelsea’s neck, Scolari acknowledged “It’s a big game – it is three points. We need to win more games at home, because we have played four games at home and won only two. There were many, many draws at home and the final result – two points behind Manchester. This is important.”  

Martin O’Neill paid tribute to the manner in which his Villa side were defeated, stating “They (Chelsea) were brilliant. It was a harsh lesson for us. This is where we want to be, this is what we aspire to. We were on a crest of a wave. This morning I thought we could win, which shows I’m daft. Chelsea would have beaten some of the best teams in Europe today.’’ And as if that wasn’t praise enough, he carried on “Scolari’s a brilliant manager. He has inherited a great team here, and put his own stamp on it, and that is remarkable. I thought Chelsea were brilliant today, absolutely brilliant and we would have had to have had our best players playing at the top of their game to compete today, never mind anything else. It was a harsh lesson. I felt they were absolutely terrific.”

And I certainly wouldn’t argue with that.

Chelsea’s passing and movement was a pleasure to watch, this is the sort of football we should’ve been playing – and haven’t – for the past few years. Excellent link up play, constantly in possession and on the attack and yet still organised in defence. Indeed, Ivanovic (who as it turns out, wasn’t a myth after all), slotted in beside Terry as if he’d been playing there for years. Ok, he didn’t have that much to do, but he looked comfortable enough when called upon and dispossessed Carew with ease.

Mikel, again looked very much in control, breaking up any potential attacks, whilst Ashley Cole and Bosingwa (who’s continued improvement makes me a lot less nervous now), again added to our attacking force as we took total control of the game. Lampard’s continued good form saw him involved in everything and even Nicolas Anelka, who I’ve never been able to hide my disappointment in, had a storming 45 minutes. And as for his replacement, 19 year old Franco Di Santo, even his 45 minutes had everything but his shooting boots in it. The young Argentinian, who totally impressed me pre-season, still showed enough movement and skill to give us a taste of the potential that a bit of exposure to the first team could unleash.

Great stuff.

 

TEAM: Cech, Bosingwa, Terry, Ivanovic, A Cole, Mikel, Lampard, Ballack, J Cole (Kalou, 56), Anelka (Di Santo, 46), Malouda (Belletti, 82)

Chelsea scorers: J Cole, Anelka

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