Chelsea have advanced to the 5th round of the FA Cup with a win over Stoke City at Stamford Bridge. Oscar netted a superb free-kick for the solo goal that helped knock Stock City out of the tournament. Jose Mourinho will surely be pleased with the win and the performance except the fact that we missed many chanced to kill the game early on in the first half. The Blues have hit the post two times in each half as Oscar went close for his 2nd and Schurrle almost added a goal to his name.
Chelsea will play Manchester City on the Feb. 3rd of Monday instead of Saturday which would have been the case had we drawn this match against Stoke. Let’s now look at some important lessons we got out of this emphatic victory that should have seen many goals from the home side…
We have another free-kick specialist in Oscar; never mind Juan-
When, the free-kick was given in that particular spot, myself and surely most Chelsea fans thought of Juan Mata’s trade mark curler into the far post against Man Utd last season. A little emotional memory later, the Brazilian heir to the free-kick spot took his shot and scored with a brilliant move. The crowd erupted in applause and the memory of Mata’s beautiful free-kicks faded away at least for the time being even though it’s something to always be remembered by the Chelsea faithful forever. Thank you Juan for those nice memories and carry on Oscar!
History maker Frank Lampard has never lost it in his return-
Super Frank made his 58th appearance in the FA Cup against Stoke city captaining the side in the absence of John Terry. That made Lampard the 2nd highest appearance maker in the club’s history only behind to Ron Harris’ 64 appearances. And returning from an injury that ruled him out for almost a month, the midfielder looked brilliant in the pivot alongside Nemanja Matic, who made his first start for Chelsea since his return. And Lampard almost grabbed two goals from the box in the first half. Great sign of a return and there might be a chance of featuring in the Premier League in the upcoming weekend too.
Oscar highlighted why he is Jose’s golden boy in the no. 10 spot-
The Brazilian was man of the match and was incredible performer since he was substituted late on not to tire him out. Mourinho showed his faith in Oscar ahead of Mata since the beginning of the season and that slowly lead to Mata’s departure from Stamford Bridge to Old Trafford. But, Oscar justified his presence and his importance as the main star of the show behind the striker. He has made the position his own and such brilliant performances coupled with a free-kick like that only prove the point.
Matic looks very much promising for the future and present-
The Serbian international played to a great standard in midfield as he has been in the side for quite some time but, he was only making his first start for the Blues at Stamford Bridge. Following a debut at Stamford bridge last week against Manchester United, it was time for Matic to show what he is capable of and he did just that against Stoke City. He won lots of aerial duels and intercepted balls that could have lead to Stoke equalizing against Chelsea. His qualities has been highlighted in the match but, there are more brilliant performances yet to come along with superb volleys into the back of the net which made a contender for FIFA Puskas award in the last Gala which was won by Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Manchester City await in the 5th round fixture at the Etihad-
Mourinho won’t surely be satisfied with such a big big showdown early on in the FA Cup ahead of a title decider against the same side at the same ground in Feb. 3rd. It’s the Blues of Manchester against the Blues of London at the Etihad. Fingers are crossed as to who is going to knock each other out of the tournament in the fixture we can’t wait to witness. The fans are already ready and bring it on!
We anticipate the next game in the tournament in high regards and let us know what you thought of the game .
