Tag: chelsea football club

Day 26/ 365 – Drama at Stamford Bridge

~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday evening, we had a great game at Stamford Bridge – Chelsea vs. West Bromwich Albion. I happened to watch the last 10 minutes of the game and it was simply amazing pressure by Chelsea team who were lagging behind by a goal. West Bromwich had already defeated Manchester United at Old Trafford earlier this season and the same was happening at Stamford Bridge. This game was Jose Mourinho’s 100th game as manager for Chelsea and he has never lost a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge (which is quite a record – considering the teams he has faced). The record was at risk. But relentless pressure by Chelsea worked and they were awarded a penalty when Ramires was brought down near the goal box. My brother who is a die hard Man U fan simply said the referee has come under pressure and made a mistake. Like there was no pressure on the referee when Sir Alex was around :P.

I was surprised that Hazard was given the chance to take the penalty shot. After all that was written about him over the entire week and him not playing the UEFA game (benched was the reason), I wasn’t sure if he would be able to convert.  But he scored and proved to everyone that he is tough character and prevented the Jose Mourinho’s record being broken. At the end of the game, Mourinho looked relieved, but 2 points were dropped. With Liverpool winning, Chelsea are now at 3rd position. Not sure what happens to this Chelsea team, the week before last they were winning everything and since last 2 weeks, the performance has been inconsistent. May be the team is yet to settle, and right combination yet to be found. However, the issues need to be fixed sooner rather than later as the crucial month of December is around and Chelsea need to be at their best to win everything going forward.

Day 14/ 365 – Football Super Sunday

~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

Got to see one of most exciting matches of the Premier League this season. Billed as the “El Cashico”, due to the enormous amounts of money both the teams have poured in their teams, it was one of the matches to look out for. I have been a Chelsea supporter since last 10 odd years now and though I am not a die hard fan (i.e. don’t need to watch all the matches), I do follow most of their games. I was super excited when Jose Mourinho came on board once again and since then have been looking forward to enjoying some Chelsea success. I was hoping to enjoy that Manchester United but the day was won by brilliant performance of Wayne Rooney. He played like a man possessed and draw was a fair result. The game with Manchester City was the second biggest game for Chelsea and I was glad that they were able to grab all 3 points in the game. Like Wayne Rooney, Fernando Torres was playing like a man possessed and hopefully with him scoring in 2 consecutive games, I am hoping he is back to his best. He seemed to be enjoying the game and didn’t let the disappointment get to him for missing a straight forward goal. In the next couple of minutes, he set up the pass beautifully for Schurrle to score and also hit the goal post with a super shot. During the dying stages of the game, with scores level and points to be shared between the teams, he created the error from keeper Joe Hart and defender to score the winning goal. For me it was an absolute delight watching Chelsea and Torres play the way they did. During the later stages of the game, it seemed like Chelsea were the one looking for the goal and had stepped up the pressure considerably. It was really good watching Chelsea attack and get the result they wanted. I know a lot of people will say it is too soon in the season to mention this, but Chelsea definitely look like title contenders this year. Next stop Arsenal!!