That’s two wins in a row now, which is stellar stuff for a club supposedly in the clutches of a full-blown crisis and where something not nice is brewing. Everton were the visitors this week in their ill-conceived away kit and their disinterested performance deserved far worse than the 2-0 defeat they suffered.
Here are some of the talking points from a fairly straightforward win:
- The A Team: With Hazard still not fully fit despite 70 odd minutes for the U-23s but Pedro now available after his own injury troubles, Conte was able to fit round pegs in round holes as far as the front three were concerned. Fabregas also slotted back into midfield alongside Kante after serving his suspension, which meant David Luiz moved to the heart of defence. Young Andreas Christensen only made the bench despite his impressive performance against Spurs, but this was the strongest available lineup.
- The Magic Hat: Cesc Fabregas was given the freedom of the Stamford Bridge pitch to orchestrate proceedings in the middle. Everton, inexplicably, did not find it worth the effort to press the Spaniard and simply let him play those raking, long balls at will. He even found time to literally pass the ball into the net for his first goal of the season.
- Youth vs Experience: In his pre-game press conference, Antonio Conte stressed the importance of winning over blooding youngsters. Although it might grate a few supporters, the main takeaway was this – ‘If they’re good enough, they’re old enough’. And judging by that, it seems Christensen is one of the few Chelsea youngsters rated by the manager. He might have come off the bench for just the last few minutes in this match but he is the most likely candidate to get a proper run in the first team this season.
- More In Store: Alvaro Morata will always be compared to that big Belgian in Manchester, especially by those of the Mancunian persuasion, forever looking for faults in the Spaniard’s game. Against Everton, Morata led the line admirably and came up with one assist and one goal. Fun fact: Morata is the first player in Premier League history to score and assist in his first two home games. Not bad for a ‘fallback option’.
- English Premium: This was also the first time in history that Chelsea had zero English players in the matchday squad. The club’s pursuit of Drinkwater, Barkley and Oxlade-Chamberlain makes sense now, considering the last great Chelsea team had Terry and Lampard as the English core. Although the aforementioned trio are nowhere near those levels, how many English players truly are? Only two perhaps, and hell will freeze over before Daniel Levy allows either of them to cross the London divide.
- Fair Dos: I’ve been raging against match officials since the past few games, so it’s time to give them some credit. Jon Moss had a decent game. There were a few inconsistencies here and there but he redeemed himself by playing advantage when Moses was fouled, leaving Conte furious on the touchline. The move eventually ended in Morata scoring from Azpilicueta’s cross to double Chelsea’s lead. So, yeah, here’s a gold star for you, Mr. Moss for a job… well, done.
- Getting There: Although Everton, for some reason, did not provide the sort of test a lot of us were anticipating, Chelsea’s players do seem to be finding some sort of rhythm after the shock defeat to Burnley. Now, let’s just keep it going into next… oh.
Well, then. Just as we were on a hat-trick of wins, here comes the international break to rob us of all momentum. Let’s just hope all our players make it back unscathed and ready for the next test, two weeks from now.