Chelsea are represented in the latest Premier League team of the week that has been selected by BBC pundit Garth Crooks.
Actually Garth is now down as a ‘Football Analyst’ these days, a posh term for a pundit then!
The performances by Victor Moses, David Luiz, N’Golo Kante and Willian in the four two victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup semi final at the weekend at Wembley was enough to earn them a place in the side alongside the other, in the opinion of the former Spurs striker anyway, most impressive performers in the topflight over the latest weekend.
I think we’ll already know ourselves, and not just based on the latest performance, why Crooks, we’ll also not argue with it, selected the all four as part of his team but explaining his choice he told the BBC.
Moses:
‘What a revelation Victor Moses has been for Chelsea this season. We all know he can play when he has the ball at his feet but few would have credited him as a player capable of holding down a position with such serious defending responsibilities. His performance against Tottenham’s Son Heung-min in the FA Cup semi-final was impressive. Moses outsmarted the naïve Son, who went to ground far too early in the box, allowing Moses to take advantage of the inevitable contact for a penalty. The former Crystal Palace winger has come a long way since his days as a loan player with Stoke, Liverpool and West Brom. Since the arrival of manager Antonio Conte he has looked supreme at wing-back for the Blues. Occasionally you find players who can make the transition from one position to another but it’s very seldom you find a player who makes his name performing a particular function, but then becomes an even better player when asked to perform another role. Moses has become that player.’
Luiz:
‘This was a terrific FA Cup semi-final and one that needed players on the pitch with a lot of nerve. John Terry might be planning his exit strategy but what do Chelsea care? They have a new leader on the pitch and his name is David Luiz. He got the run around last week against Marcus Rashford at Old Trafford, but not so against Spurs. In the absence of captain Gary Cahill, this was a sensational performance by the Brazil international. Yes, he was exposed by the ‘pass of the season’ by Christian Eriksen for Dele Alli to equalise but there isn’t a defender on the planet who could have defended that ball. Luiz’s performance can only be matched by the decision-making of boss Conte. To leave out Eden Hazard and Diego Costa, two of his best players, for an FA Cup semi-final takes some courage but it also presented their replacements with an opportunity to shine and that’s precisely what they did – especially Willian. I said that Chelsea could do the Double and I saw nothing against Tottenham to change my mind.’
Kante:
‘What another wonderful performance by the little man. Yes, it was Nemanja Matic who sealed Tottenham’s fate with the most incredible strike but it was N’Golo Kante who kept Chelsea’s head above water when Spurs threatened to drown the Blues with copious possession. Kante must be a dream to work with. He provides no fuss or hysterics, he simply gets on with the job. Which is why I think Chelsea won this semi-final. Chelsea are prepared to sacrifice beauty for character and resilience. That was no better illustrated than when Conte substituted Willian, his two-goal hero, for Hazard. The Italian was reluctant to take off Kante or Matic (who wasn’t playing well), and Chelsea’s two destroyers continued to frustrate and ultimately defeat Tottenham. Kante has had another wonderful season and is on the verge of making history. It’s one thing winning the Premier League title in consecutive seasons with different teams but he is now 90 minutes away from winning the elusive league and cup Double.’
Willian:
‘Many pundits were alarmed by the news that Conte had rested Eden Hazard for the FA Cup semi-final. In fact, I had just switched on Final Score and witnessed former Liverpool striker Dean Saunders say so. He went on to say that the omission of the Belgium international would give Spurs an unnecessary boost in confidence. I agreed with him. After all, who leaves out his best player in an FA Cup semi-final? However, what we both missed in the hysteria was that Conte had Willian at his disposal. The Brazilian is a wonderful player and produced one of the performances of the season. His free-kick was absolutely superb and unlike my Match of the Day colleagues, I didn’t think that Hugo Lloris was at fault for the goal. A dead-ball specialist like Willian is capable of putting it in either top corner so keepers are often at his mercy – and Willian showed Lloris none. Likewise, his penalty was taken with such control and expertise it left me mesmerised. I have played in these games and I can assure you taking penalties on occasions like this is not for the faint-hearted. You get moments like this wrong and they can haunt you for a lifetime. Get them right and they can win you trophies. This was a wonderful performance by a wonderful player and we were wrong to doubt him. Conte didn’t.’
It’s always good to see the club represented in this way, and well played to all four for their recognition, but the most important thing about the weekend was of course progressing through to the final of the competition.
Full Team:
Eldin Jakupovic (Hull City), Victor Moses (Chelsea), David Luiz (Chelsea), Nacho Monreal (Arsenal), Gabriel (Arsenal), Christian Eriksen (Tottenham Hotspur), N’Golo Kante (Chelsea), Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Willian (Chelsea), Kamil Grosicki (Hull City), Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace).
