Premier League leaders Chelsea had to dig deep to eke out an impressive 4-2 win at home over Stoke City to maintain their 6 point lead over 2nd placed Liverpool. It was Chelsea, who took the lead through Gary Cahill in the 34th minute, only for Bruno Martins Indi to equalise in the 46th minute.
Willian then helped the home side take the lead with a well-taken goal in the 57th minute before Crouch scored in the 64th minute and gave the travelling Stoke supporters some hope.
However, their joy was short-lived as Willian scored his 2nd of the evening just a minute later while Diego Costa’s goal in the 85th minute ensured that Chelsea emerged victors from the game.
Here are the 5 talking points from the game.
#1 Chelsea continue their marauding run
With the victory over Stoke City, Chelsea equalled Arsenal’s record of 13 consecutive wins in a Premier League season. In the process, they also maintained their vital lead of 6 points over the 2nd placed Liverpool and now go into the game against cross-town rivals Tottenham in a buoyant mood.
Perhaps, it was not the win alone, but the matter in which they achieved it that must really please the Chelsea faithful. Having squandered their lead on 2 occasions during the game, Chelsea did not let the visitors pry their moment away from them and continued to pile on the pressure in the later stages of the game to run out comfortable victors.
A true champion side will not have it all easy and will need to dig deep to enforce results and that is precisely the way Chelsea did it on Saturday. Given their performance on the evening, it looks unlikely that the West-Londoners are in a mood to let the momentum slip and all we can say at the moment is Mauricio Pochettino and co better beware of what is going to hit them next.
#2 Willian is the man for Chelsea
The Brazilian was one of the few positive news that emerged out of Stamford Bridge last season. In the current season, Chelsea have turned their fortunes around for the better and Willian seems to be enjoying the best time of his career in a Chelsea shirt.
While he has been part of the title winning side in the past, he was more of a peripheral figure at the club, with numerous other superstars hogging the limelight. That has changed over the last 18 months as Willian has proved himself to be irreplaceable at the club.
On Saturday, he proved too hot to handle for the often sturdy Stoke defence with his runs on and off the ball as well as his finishing. While the Brazilian created just one chance in the game, his vision and instincts as an attacking player resulted in 2 of Chelsea’s 4 goals. He hit the double-digit mark in a season for the first time in his career only last season and should he continue with his glorious form, we see no reason why he cannot improve his previous season’s tally of 11 goals.
#3 Cesc Fabregas achieves another milestone and does so in style
There have been talks of the Spaniard leaving Stamford Bridge over the transfer window. However, if his performance on the evening was any indication, the player still has a lot to offer to this Chelsea side. He pulled the strings in the midfield for Chelsea and troubled Stoke with his passing ability and range while also ensuring that he did his fair share of dirty work in the middle of the pitch.
After having helped Chelsea take the lead with a perfect corner, the Spaniard made an incisive pass for Willian’s second. In the process, he also reached a personal milestone of having assisted 100 Premier League goals during his time in England.
He was his usual self, mixing it up with the short and long passes to ensure that Stoke was largely restricted to their own box. The Spaniard created 5 chances during the 73 minute he was on the pitch and was one of the main reasons Chelsea dominated the majority of the proceedings.
When deployed in a deeper role, the player can prove effective with time and space available to him and with the likes of industrious N’Golo Kante and Willian plying their trade ahead of him, he was proved to be a deadly presence.
The rumours regarding his future continue to resurface time and again. However, given his performance, even if he was on the offering, we believe Conte and co will have a hard look at the situation before letting the player leave.
#4 Stoke can take heart from the loss. However, certain players need to pull up their socks
While the consecutive losses at the hands of Liverpool and Chelsea might have pegged them back by a few positions in the League table, Mark Hughes’ men must take heart from the losses endured over the recent times. The side put up a fight, at least momentarily against sides which have been in hot form and could have done little when the eventual quality of the opposition came to the forefront.
Prior to the festive period, the side had drawn consecutive games against Southampton and Leicester City. However, with the kind of performances they have put in, where they looked to be taking the game away from the opposition, we believe, Stoke could better position in the League table.
While we cannot appreciate their tenacity, we do believe that certain Stoke players, most notably, Swiss super Xherdan Shaqiri and captain Ryan Shawcross need to better their performances to ensure that the campaign remains healthy. The two were unable to enforce Stoke’s control in the game, in the midfield as well as in defence and given their importance to the side, the duo needs to ensure that they remain consistently effective.
#5 The case of a rejuvenated Charlie Adam
The Scottish international’s career at Stoke City looked all but over towards the end of the last season as he was used in a bit-part capacity. Come the start of the current season and things did not look like they were going to improve, with the player spending just 56 minutes on the pitch on the first 9 matchdays
However, things have improved substantially for the defensive midfielder as he has enjoyed continued playing time and proving himself to be an important player for Mark Hughes. Adam has created 13 chances in the league in the current season, the 4th highest at the club and has proven to be a calming presence at the heart of the Stoke midfield.
Against Chelsea, Adam did a fine job of containing the Chelsea midfield, often breaking up play with tackles and interceptions while also ensuring he played a role in his side’s attacking opportunities, most notably via dead ball situations.
While every side needs to have players with flair to prosper, they also need players who can enforce themselves during the game to balance out the attack and defence and Adam is the kind of player several teams in the league lack. Having risen from the ashes over the recent weeks, we hope the former Blackpool and Liverpool man can improve on his performances as we get into the business end of the season.
