Wednesday night was Chelsea’s ninth win of their season, but it
felt like their first. It was not a narrow scrape, as most of them were. The
2-0 score-line understated their dominance.
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| Willan Celebrates after scoring |
It
was not against modest opposition, either, Porto clearly
being in a different league from Norwich City, Maccabi Tel Aviv or Aston Villa. Nor was it a gift, as when Arsenal self-destructed
at Stamford Bridge in September.This
was an emphatic, unambiguous, important win that meant far more than merely
deciding which European competition Chelsea will play in for the rest of the
season.
This
was the best performance of Chelsea’s season in what was predicted to be JoseMourinho’s last game. This was not just
stabilisation but improvement and progress for the first time all year. This
was the first sign all season that Mourinho can get these players back to their
best and, therefore, that he is worth keeping in the job. What could be more
important than that?
The
story of this season, of the most dramatic collapse by any big side in modern
English football history, has been the story of the players’ reactions to
Mourinho’s methods. For all Mourinho’s obsession with external enemies, the
main issue has always been internal.
When
the season began, Mourinho tried to spark an improvement out of his players,
hoping that they would not rest on their laurels. As he told them very bluntly,
he was a “serial champion”. Were they?
Can they continue with this form and stop high flying league leaders Leicester City on Monday Night??? we wait and see
Next Match: Leicester City Vs Chelsea Fc
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