1. Costa doesn’t do friendlies!
You can’t help but love him as a Chelsea fan, can you? Costa’s competitive nature may irritate opposing fans but it doesn’t half strengthen the bond with Chelsea fans! Just twenty seconds into yesterday’s game he fouled Aurier. Didn’t need a minute to grow into his aggressive self! It went on throughout yesterday and this may sound unsporting but I (as will most, if not all of you) love it when he gets under defender’s skins!
Memory may not serve me correctly but yesterday he had tussles with Aurier, David Luiz, Thiago Motta and Adrien Rabiot! It may surprise some of you but he did not receive one red card last season! Let’s hope that happens again this coming year! Though one thing’s for sure…Costa is sticking by his word and will not be changing his style of play!
2. Mikel has a role in the squad…but that role fits certain games!
I have always been a supporter of John Obi Mikel. After all, he was brought into the club by no other by Jose Mourinho who at the time had to fight off Manchester United for his signing (showing that Alex Ferguson too thought highly of the player.) He is now the longest-serving player at the club excluding our Captain, Leader, Legend and played a major part in those wonderful nights in Munich and Barcelona. So it goes without saying that Mikel has ability, however, it is accepted that his role in the squad suits a particular style of opponent.
In games where we need to shift the ball quickly, Mikel obviously does not suit. He does take that extra touch and he isn’t as quick at shifting the ball as the likes of Fabregas, Matic or Ramires. It showed yesterday in that first half where we were chasing shadows that he did not quite fit in.
Despite this, I still stand by the view that Mikel does have a role in our squad. There is more than one way to win a football match and that showed last season. We will not play beautiful, flowing football for 38 games. There will be games where we are under pressure and need to adopt a tighter, more defensive style. Where opponents will seek for long balls. This is where Mikel fits in. I know this won’t be a popular view but you don’t spend nearly ten years at a club like Chelsea and win all that he has, featuring regularly, if you are no good!
3. Falcao looks hungry… and sharp!
Yesterday we saw the debut of our new striker, Radamel Falcao! Once the most lethal striker in Europe, Falcao joins us after a disappointing season at Manchester United. Though yesterday he looked like he was ready to prove that last year was a one-off and he will contribute towards our goal tally this year.
With new signings, especially ones under scrutiny like Falcao, it is about managing your own expectations. Too often we see clubs become excited after ten minutes here and there or a run of four or five games. However, as first impressions go, Falcao did fairly well yesterday. He held the ball up well, laid one shot off for Remy and was just behind Thiago Silva for the rebound, and stepped up and converted the first penalty!
Only time will tell how Falcao performs but if yesterday was anything to go by we can look forward to seeing more of our new number nine!
4. We are not up to our usual standard defensively…yet!
Yesterday, like against New York Red Bulls, we were not quite ourselves defensively. Particularly in the first half where Begovic had to make a couple of half decent saves. It is probably just pre-season sloppiness but with the Premier League just around the corner, let’s hope that this is ironed out in our remaining friendlies against Barcelona, Fiorentina and of course Arsenal.
One exception I’d like to make is Kurt Zouma! Who plays like a defender with 10 years of experience as opposed to being the young man he is.
5. Thibaut Courtois…need I say more?
Thibaut Courtois…take a bow! What a penalty! I was unsure of how well he would fare in a shoot-out having only been in one before but I was impressed by the fact he saved two, was unfortunate with another couple, and stepped up to take (and impressively convert) the winning penalty. We know who we can rely on if Hazard isn’t on the pitch!
Let us know your thoughts below in the comments!
