A 2-0 win over Middlesbrough suggests that Chelsea`s recovery continues. The weekend visit to Liverpool will give a much better healthcheck.
When was the last time that Chelsea kept a clean sheet? It was against West Brom over one month ago. And now, Chelsea managed a clean sheet against Middlesbrough.
It was a far from convincing performance for a team that, somewhat by default, now finds itself in second place. Yet for the relative defensive solidity, Chelsea have managed another 2 goals from set pieces, which is encouraging considering how poor the Blues have been getting anything from dead ball situations until now. Both Chelsea goals were from corners, Salomon Kalou being the right player at the right time. We also have to point out that this is another game where Chelsea ended without a booking, which is refreshing.
Did Scolari get his tactics right? Chelsea failed to penetrate Middlesbrough`s defence in the first half, and Scolari brought on Didier Drogba in the second to destabilise Middlesbrough`s defenders, the Ivorian was important in the set piece displays that allowed Kalou to score. On the other hand, Scolari also brought on Deco and Stoch in the final 10 minutes, the latter seems like a rather token gesture.
Other results went Chelsea`s way, with Everton and Arsenal drawing, and Liverpool devastatingly conceding a penalty near the end of their visit to Wigan. Consequently Chelsea began the evening in 4th place, but ended in 2nd on goal difference.
To be fair, however, our string of 4 straight wins has hardly been against convincing opposition: Southend, Stoke, Ipswich and now Middlesbrough (and the last 3 of those matches were at Stamford Bridge). Middlesbrough were very poor, fully justifying their position in the table. They were toothless in attack and failing to defend, certainly they failed to mark Kalou.
Yet, as the cliché goes, we can only play what`s put in front of us. On Sunday we visit Anfield, more often than not an unhappy hunting ground for Chelsea. If we wanted to be optimistic, we could point out that Liverpool`s current slump is as serious as Chelsea`s was last month. However, any trip to Anfield is always a tricky fixture, Liverpool are unlikely to be happy at having slipped to 3rd, and Rafa Benítez (who worked out first how to cancel out Scolari`s Chelsea) could well have learned the tactical lessons that have seen reams of newsprint analysing what went wrong these past few games. We an only hope that Scolari has also learnt something since an unhappy game earlier this season, when Liverpool won at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea will be aware that, to keep up their aspirations, they will need to avoid defeat in their next game.
Chelsea welcomed back John Terry and Jon Obi Mikel to the match on Wednesday, but Ricardo Carvalho, who was never going to be back in time for Middlesbrough, will not return in time on Sunday either. That means that Chelsea will be playing a central defensive partnership of Terry and either Alex or Ivanović. Against one of Chelsea`s direct contenders for the top spots, we fear that this will not be sufficient.
Whilst Chelsea can welcome the result of their midweek game, and there were one or two positive aspects to the win, they are still far from convincing anyone as genuine title contenders.
Share this article
