In what was sure to be a tricky away fixture on Boxing Day, Chelsea managed to grind out a result on a cold, wet day. The 0-1 win was far from convincing but it’s another 3 points.
First half
Chelsea started the game well enough in the sense that the players were able to keep possession but did little else. Norwich, despite being the home team looked like they were playing for the draw, parking the bus and allowing Chelsea to play their game. Despite that, the Canaries looked decent going forward and Gary Cahilll had to put in a good block to stop a goal-bound effort at one point. Luiz, playing in midfield again, had two shots on goal in quick succession but managed to shoot into the crowd instead of on target. First real chance fell to Mata when he was put through by Luiz but the Spaniard’s shot rippled the side netting. Mikel (not known for being a prolific goal-scorer) also had a shot from distance which was well-struck but off-target. Chelsea’s goal came when the first half was nearly over. Oscar passed to Mata, who took a touch and set himself up for the shot. His shot was well-struck and beat the keeper. 0-1 to Chelsea at half-time.
Second half
The second half was similar to the first: Chelsea on the attack while Norwich sat back. Mikel had another shot on goal that was blocked, making it the first time that he has ever taken 2 shots in a match in a period of 6 years. Chelsea won a free-kick on the edge of the box which was quickly taken by Mata in an attempt to catch the ‘keeper out, but Bunn reacted well. Snodgrass went down in the penalty area looking for the penalty after Ivanovic had caught him but the referee waved play on. As the half went on, Norwich looked to grow in confidence and in an attempt to kill off the game, 2 substitutions were made by Benitez in quick succession: Lampard for Mikel and Hazard for Moses. Chelsea pressed, looking for a second goal that would kill the game. Norwich came close from a corner but Chelsea survived. In the final minutes, Juan Mata was withdrawn and Nathan Ake was given his Premier League debut. The match ended 1-0.
Check out Andre Saad’s video review of the game ! –
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N11nmWzTckI&w=560&h=315]
Tank god we get 3 point
what counts is three point not really bothered how they played
We need strikers.
Irokotola mike
Truth is Norwich did not give us space to play our game. We were harried off the ball quite crudely. It was a very physical game which the selection we made could not handle. I noticed that Oscar lacked the egde cos he is not a winger, we couldn’t offer much going forward as he was constantly knocked off the ball,but faired better when he switched wings with Moses. Mata equally didn’t fair better. Truth is Mata and Oscar are the same type of players; they are built to play from the middle. Hazard would have fared better because he has the skillset and the pace to handle what Norwich were dishing out. All our midfielders got knocked around. This matched is a pointer to the fact that we need another pacy winger since Marin isn’t justifying his inclusion in the team so far. When Hazard came in we were more equipped to torment the fullbacks because he takes the ball to the defenders and runs at them which restricted them more into their half. If we had 2 Hazard type players running the show from first half, we probably would have had one or two more goals. I’m happy that we kept a clean shit and won the matched against a team that has beaten Man U, Spurs and Arsenal. We should buy in the winter market so that we will have options to handle different play strategies.