Inter gains the slightest advantage over Chelsea

Inter milan 2 - Chelsea 1 (Champions league last 16, first leg at San Siro)
Yesterday's match, or should I say today mornings match between Inter and Chelsea, put me into a rather interesting dilemma as to which team to support, being Chelsea supporter and Jose Mourinho fan, I guess it was quite natural to be confused. The fact that I became a Chelsea supporter mainly during the Mourinho era and this being a crucial Champions league first leg only added to the drama. So I was dilpomatic and decided not to support any team in particular and hoped the best team on the day wins.

It would be an exaggeration if I said it was a great match, I feel it failed to bring out the best football in both teams, as it usually happens in the matches between high profile teams. Chelsea defintely had more pocession and arguably created more chances but Inter looked solid in defence, except for a very ordinary effort from the keeper which resulted in a goal. Inter probably had the best chance to score, which was wasted by Eto and if you consider the freekick by Drogba which hit the crossbar it would be a fair assumption that both teams had equal chances.

It looked like Chelsea were missing the Cole's, which hindered their penetrative attacking runs from the left. Inter scored two beautiful goals thanks to milito and Cambiasso, the timings of which always gave inter the upperhand in the match. The first was in 3rd minute and second only 3-4 minutes after chelsea scored their only goal, making sure Inter was almost always leading.

After seeing Chelsea for so long, I thought they would a little more probably bringing on Joe Cole would created a little more innovation in the attacking front. It looked liked Chelsea are preserving their best for the second leg in Stamford Bridge, but having an opposition managed by their best coach in history may be the deciding factor. Whatever the result of the Second leg I am sure we will be able to watch a great match, and the results will have huge impacts in the leagues, the transfer markets and also in the personal battle of 2 of the greatest coaches in the market today.

Chelsea geared up for the testing times?

Chelsea is one of the teams doing extremely well these days. They are leading the EPL and have already qualified as group leaders in the Champions league. More importantly they are getting close to the invincibility associated with Chelsea team, during their prime under Jose Mourinho. They are definitely looking like the favorites for EPL, so what do I mean by testing times. Last year this time Chelsea was almost in the same position, leading the table with Liverpool when they played the critical (proved later) match with Arsenal on 30th November which they lost 1-2 thanks to the 2 goals by Van Persie.

This was critical because it started their decline, ultimately getting the manager Scholari dismissed. If history can be given any merit Chelsea will be aware of this fact at the back of their minds. So this weekend’s match with Arsenal can be testing times for the character of the Chelsea players, one which I believe will crucial to their hopes of winning the EPL this year, considering also the fact that they will be playing much of January with out some of their key players, unavailable due to the African Cup.

I do not believe in history too much, and feel Chelsea will not crumble like last time, even if they lose the match this weekend, but then Foot ball is a strange game with unpredictable results and anything is possible. So lets wait and watch one of the much awaited matches of this season with our fingers crossed, as this might be more crucial then it seems.

Chelsea bring down the hulks of Hull city

I may not be the only one, after seeing the Hull City team, who needed to confirm that their team name was Hull City and not Hulk City, with the current set of players the latter name actually suits them better.

Chelsea definitely had more possession of the ball, but found it really difficult to break down the City defense; they also had a little difficulty in dealing with set pieces largely due to height advantage of the Hull City players. It looks to me that the diamond may not always be the right approach to bring out the best from Chelsea players. Yesterday the Diamond was not very effective as there was no width and midfield was crowded to say the least. It was not a great game to watch for the Chelsea fans, as they would believe the team is capable of much more.

Two players who did not play to the potential was Mikel and Anelka, Mikel was steady but definitely lacked the pace and Anelka never looked like he was going to score and was more effective when he strayed away from the box.

The man who made the difference was definitely Drogba, his first goal was excellent from a superbly taken free kick. The second goal needed a little bit of luck, but no surprise it was with, arguably the best player of the day to give Chelsea 2-1 lead and the match in the 90th minute of the game. Carlo has got the first taste of the pressure being a Chelsea coach and if he doesn’t change things soon, there may be more such experiences to follow.

Chelsea Bags the Community Shield

It was a great match for a friendly cup, and I feel the better team won. Manchester United never looked the same side which won the premier league last season and it was quite evident that they missed the cutting edge of Ronaldo. The dominance shown by Chelsea in the second half will surely give something to think about for SAF, even when Chelsea was leading 2 goals to 1, it was Chelsea who was playing the more attacking football, and it never looked like Manchester United will score. They did score though thanks to brilliance of Rooney and for someone who watched second half it was a surprise they did. The penalties also showed the strength and experience of the Chelsea squad as they never missed a penalty and Manchester United could convert only one from their 3.

This Man U side looks the weakest I have see in the last few years, and gives a lot of promise for Chelsea and Liverpool and their title hopes. It is too early to say though and Man U is famous for springing in surprises most often then not, but if Sunday’s match was testimony of things to come then I would not feel too comfortable, if I was a Man U fan.

As they say well begun is half done, Chelsea has begun well but they have miles and miles to travel this season.