In what was to be their first real major loss of the season, Chelsea's hopes of defending the Champions League trophy this season took a battering with a 2-1 defeat to Shaktar Donetsk last night.
A quickfire Alex Texeira goal in the 4th minute barely before the game settled gave Shaktar the lead, followed by another through Fernandinho in the 2nd half ensured that Oscar's consolation meant nought as our boys face the reality of having to win at least 2 of their last 3 games in order to advance past the group stages.
Admittedly, we didn't play too badly. However, we didn't actually click or get into rhythm throughout the entire game. It was one of those nights where the intense battle on the park was to be decided by taking all your chances well and converting them. Chelsea did not.
No alarm bells to be rung yet, though. Chelsea's season is still pretty much going on track despite this little speed bump in the Donbass Arena. I personally feel we have enough quality to pull through at least to the knockout phase. By then, the nucleus and shape of this team should have settled and we'd see how the new-look Chelsea fares amongst Europe's elite.
On the domestic front, what can I say? 22 points out of a possible 24 means we are currently sitting pretty on top of the pile with the 2 Manchester clubs chasing. We have played 2 testing derby fixtures against Arsenal and Spurs, and walked away with 3 points each in the bag.
This weekend, however, sees a true test of our mettle and will be a good indicator as to how genuine is Chelsea's chase for the Premier League title going to be as Man Utd beckons.
Fortunately, we're catching United at a time when they are facing injury problems and a leaking backline but they're still Man Utd. At their worst, they are already highly competitive and never know when they're beaten. When they're on form, they can tear any team apart with ease.
At this point in time, with Rooney regaining his form and relishing life a little deeper in midfield, RvP showing why Sir Alex forked out so much dosh to lure him over from the Emirates, it does look like the Chelsea backline will be in for a real test of character and pressure.
I expect it to be a very tight affair, with perhaps very little separating the two. I am plumping for a Chelsea win though. And this time, I predict Hazard putting in an inspiring performance to show why he was the brightest star to have left Ligue 1 in recent times.
So bring on the Devils.
we're probably the only 2 idiots still hurling out messages in a bottle into the deep blue sea of cyberspace using ye old methods
ReplyDeleteYup, somehow ye old methods seem ever the more satisfying when viewed many years down the road than losing all your thoughts in the barrage of tweets and Facebook updates that get lost amidst all that noise.
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