So, yesterday saw the return of our beloved Chelsea. After nearly two months, most of us would have stayed up to see the Premier League Champions play against MLS side New York Red Bulls. Below looks at a few of the things we may have learnt from yesterday’s fixture!
Victor Moses and Bertrand Traore could well prove to be effective additions.
Granted, neither of these players are strictly new ‘additions’, however, neither played last season and based on last night’s performances, they look promising! WIth the latter, those that have followed him since his trial at the club in the summer of 2013 will know that his talent is not in doubt. What us fans, (and more importantly) , Mourinho, will be looking for is that work rate and ball retention that the likes of Willian possess so well. Having watched last night’s game, I saw two perfect examples of this. The first was half way through the first half where Traore lost the ball but instead of stopping and accepting this fact, raced back and won the ball back, laying the ball of to Fabregas. The second occasion saw him stop an attack building by putting the ball out for a throw-in.
As for Moses, I have seen him receive a lot of criticism since it has been stated that he will be in Mourinho’s plans. However, Moses is a player that could have a big say this season. It is accepted that he does not possess the natural talent of Hazard or the likes of Greizmann, however, a squad requires a variety of skills. Moses is a strong, direct winger that is prepared to take on his man. On a number of occasions yesterday Moses did this and was unfortunate not to score. He himself acknowledged that he needs to work on his finishing. Though to be fair to him, that is something that all of our attacking players could do with improving!
In concluding this point, in my view, both Moses and Traore are exciting prospects that should compete for places. One thing’s for sure, us Chelsea fans will support them regardless!
The presence of Cesc Fabregas truly is vital
During the first half of yesterday’s game, our passing was smooth, our game flowed better, and we had far more of the ball. The reason behind this? Cesc Fabregas. This sounds like such a simplistic point that to be fair everybody will have noticed but it just shows how much of a transformation the signing of Fabregas has had on our style of play.
Not only does Cesc control the tempo, he also brings out the confidence of other players. Even the aforementioned Moses was asking for the ball in tight corners or whilst being closely tracked.
I personally think that fitness was a massive factor in yesterday’s second half collapse but with Cesc on the pitch we have more of the ball, which in itself requires less running around, which is ideal for matches in yesterday’s weather!
Loic Remy is fighting for that number one striker spot!
There was plenty of talk about Loic Remy possibly leaving this summer and I was one of the many fans hoping that it would not be the case! Thankfully, the player has expressed his desire to stay and fight for a place and fighting for a place he does!
On the scoresheet yet again yesterday, Remy is clinical. Simple as that! I read yesterday that with the exceptions of Sergio Aguero, Papis Cisse and our own Diego Costa, Loic Remy had the best minutes per goal ratio in the league. For someone that featured far less than he may have wanted last season, that is beyond impressive. His professionalism is excellent and I hope that he gets the minutes he deserves and grabs goals as important as he did last season!
Some of our fans are morons! No need for a meltdown over a pre-season game!
Twitter is a wonderful place. Some of our fans are excellent and are level headed people. However, some of our fans are still supporting the club the way a ten-year old does! Demanding an overhaul, calling for certain players to be dropped and just a general meltdown. Come on! We are Premier League champions, we have Jose Mourinho and we have been in far worse places. Remember AVB?! Positivity please!
Thanks for reading and Up the Chels!!
