‘If Anyone can, Jose can’ fittingly sums up everything as Chelsea ended Manchester City’s impressive home run. Chelsea traveled to the Etihad Stadium as underdogs and were written off by almost everyone prior to the game, after 90 minutes though everyone would be wondering why. People expected Chelsea to park the bus infront of goal but what transpired was Mourinho MAGIC. An absolute masterclass from Jose, from the starting line up to the execution of the tactics everything was inch perfect. In the end a 1-0 scoreline just seems a bit flattering to Man City.
Man City had a brighter start and looked to attack Chelsea from the outset. But Chelsea played magnificent counter attacking football and City’s defense visibly was torn apart in the first half. Ivanovic gave Chelsea the lead in the 32nd minute with a wonderful strike. After which Chelsea didn’t sit back, instead went for more. Chelsea knew they had to outscore City because the amount of talent they possess, a slight miss judgement could lead to a City goal. However, the second goal eluded Chelsea and were denied three times by the woodwork.
City in the last ten minutes pushed for the equalizer but Chelsea’s defense was air tight and the Blues held on to a MASSIVE win. The win leaves us two points behind Arsenal.
We just did a double over City this season. The last visiting manager to see his team keep a PL clean sheet at the Etihad was Alex McLeish in November 2010. Chelsea changed this record today. What a historic win indeed.
What We Learned:
Mourinho’s men produce a Tactical Masterclass
‘The Special One is back’ say the headlines tomorrow, well he never left to be honest. What a fantastic tactical display by Chelsea. They let City come at them and when City lost the ball in Chelsea’s half Chelsea made lightning fast counters. Everyone had a fantastic game. The defense was top class, the pivot work perfectly fine. The trio of Willian-Hazard-Ramires ran tirelessly throughout the 90 minutes and in all fairness City expected none of it and were visibly rattled.
They missed Fernandinho big time. Someone who could break play down and slow the tempo of the game. Yaya was the lone warrior who caused Chelsea problems but had no result to show for it.
Jose will be mighty satisfied with the result. It puts us back in contention after a disappointing draw against West Ham. But psychologically what this win will do to the confidence of the players is unexplainable. Chelsea players will now know that they can go anywhere and beat anybody.
The defense: ABSOLUTE WALL
There wasn’t a clean sheet kept by the away side at the Etihad since November 2010 and we all know City has been scoring for fun this season. Put 6 past Spurs and Arsenal and 4 past United when they visited Etihad. Chelsea though thanks to brilliant defending kept it. Chelsea have kept four successive PL clean sheets away from home for the first time since December 2008. This is a massive improvement considering we were leaking goals for fun early on.
Cahill and John Terry were fantastic tonight once again and the partnership between the two is already blossoming into a top class one.
Gary Cahill vs Man City: 1 interception, 2 shots blocked, 16 clearances, 11 aerial duels won. Rock.
Azpilicueta had a fantastic game as well, he was able to keep Navas quiet for large parts of the game. Does he ever have a bad game?Ivanovic too was brilliant on the right but that bullet off his left foot was the moment of the game.
Eden Hazard: A Magician
A big match player and yet again he was the one creating chances single-handedly. He is absolutely vital for Chelsea’s chances this season and for seasons to come. Tonight he was holding all the strings and created havoc around City’s defense.
Hazard completed 11 take-ons, the entire City team managed 11. He was fantastic with his dribbles as well and he embarked on 16 dribbles vs Man City; no other player in the game made more than six. He was just a class above the rest tonight.
Nemanja Matic: Once again Brilliant
There were times in the game when Matic actually got the better of Yaya Toure, now that’s massive. If there were any doubts after his performances vs Stoke they all should be gone now, because he put a show today. Great defensively and quite brilliant going forward. Alm0st scored as well but was denied by the woodwork.
In the first half Yaya was easing past Luiz and Matic but as the game wore on Matic stamped his authority in midfield and Chelsea looked dominant. How much we missed being bossy in midfield. He is a complete player and he is already repaying the faith entrusted in him by Jose.
Matic’s heat map tells us that he had to sit deep because of City’s attacking prowess but he did move forward himself when given a chance. A complete performance from a complete midfielder, surely a sign of things to come.
The Title Race: It’s Wide Open
Chelsea have got a massive morale booster after beating City and in process also completed the double over the title rivals. Jose however is reluctant to be involved in the title talks and is playing down a title challenge.
When asked Is it 3-horse race for title? Mourinho said: ‘Two horses & a little horse [Chelsea] that still needs to drink its milk & learn how to jump’
He is playing down expectations which in a way is good for us as it keeps the pressure off the players. In all fairness it is Man City’s title to lose given the squad they got. Chelsea is making a team for next season and it’s a striker Chelsea is desperately keen to add to the ranks.
The title of underdogs suits Chelsea but having said that nothing is decided and the race is going down to the wire and there are still plenty of games to be played.
To sum it all up it was a massive win for Chelsea, one that has really made the supporters proud. A historic win in many ways given City’s record at Etihad and how they dismantled every opposition that visited Manchester.
This win is very very satisfying indeed. Do let me know what you guys think in the comments below! KTBFFH!
I loved it. Nice writeup
I think we’re just unlucky with 1-0 won. We could win 4-0 at etihad last night but unfortunetely was denied by the woodwork indeed. I love the team played with high pressure and didn’t give man city played their best. We should keep this performance every game even play against small club. Thanks Jose for your very very briliant tactics to give Chelsea back to the title race. KTBFFH.
WOW what a brilliant performance by blue lions! It was my birthday yesterday(Feb 3), this win has given me a very much special memory and special b’day to celebrate, thank you very match Special one SIR JOSE MOURINHO. Blue is the colour……..
happy b’day
WOW what a brilliant performance by blue lions! It was my birthday yesterday(Feb 3), this win has given me a very much special memory and special b’day to celebrate, thank you very much Special one SIR JOSE MOURINHO. Blue is the colour……..
U just have to hand it to mourinho…Mind game100%,Tactics100%…Delivery100%
This victory will go a long way in Chelsea’s quest for the title. I love jose and his army. #KTBFFH.
Victòria importantissima contra o Manchester City. Obrigado pela torchina.
What i gained todae,,is dat:we nw hav our own yaya toure in matic nd we also hav our own christiano ronaldo nd messi join tugeder in hazard….wat a terrific counter attacking football
Up bluuuuuuueeeeeessss!!.THAT’S WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT!!!.
The game was a clear example of the brilliance of good tactical plan against quality/skill/grit.we would have won by 4-0 save the post that begged Chelsea players- ‘come on guys,spare them in front of their fans,please-pellegrinni is an oldman ,remember? Lol’.
we played with unusual venom that reminds fans of what we are capable of doing if we play to our strenght as a team!!!.we closed down every possible attacking plan city had,frustrating their wide men and starving the likes of toure that killer pass they needed.we pushed them back with our counter attacking,making them weary of charging down at us likewith other teams before now.tactical brilliance from jose.
No team this season has gone to city and played them the way we played them!,fearless!!.This is what we want to see,this is what we should always do.Big ups for Jose mourinho,the master of the Game!!!.Big ups for my homeboy Eddie(Hazard) as always brilliant but last night showed he can be a ballon d’or winner soon,simply tore city apart(even kompany!!),big ups for Matic,great buy,big ups to willie,my perfect 120mins race horse warrior,big ups Bran,always producing in all crunch matches when it matters most for blues!!our hero!!,big ups for gary,ever dependable gary-U TOO MUCH last night defensively!!always ready to die for blues!!Same up JT!!.big ups to Sam,Dave Azpi,oscar my boy!,my homeboy luiz(super david),JT(grand commander) and as always Ramires(war horse)!!.You all were briiilllliiaaaannnt!!!.just brilliant.14games left,we can win this guys!!.never say never!!.jose knows.
At 1st I loosed hope aftr the draw against westham but after the win against man city I am complete sure we can win the epl and we can defeat any team
truly hazard is unstoppable
Mourinho is tectically genius. No wonder he is one of the best manager in the world, just look at how he setup the team against and how he was able to neutralise the threats City had before this game. I hope this time he stays with us for a longer period am glad has come back Home now, Chelseafc. He reads the game so well am really impressed with him. In Mourinho I trust. I think you don’t need to worry your head too much when you have the Captain, Mourinho directing this ship. Hazard is also another class, my favourite player. He makes football looks good in our eyes, an eye catching displayet from him as usual. Matic was phenomenal as well. Infact the entire team was on point. Obviously proud to be a Chelseafc supporter. City were lucky the result could have been 4-0 hitting the woodwork on three consecative occasions. We are still in the title race and will fight this to the end this is what I learnt.
In all the joy we take from this game, there seems to be a downside to it, not to our team but to a player and that player is Mikel… There has been much talk about him in this forum, the Nigerians defending him,the optimistic too but with the display of Matic, I do see an end to Mikel….
Matic was quicker in feeding our attacking trio unlike Mikel, I hope there is hope for him but as Jose said, atleast 2guyz are leaving come this summer, I wonder who they are…..
Great Game…Blue is the Color, 220mph is the Speed
@jeff: from goal
Stats-wise, his contributions are not remarkable. African midfielders such as Cheick Tiote, Karim El Ahmadi and Victor Wanyama have all averaged over twice as many tackles-per-game as Mikel—in fact, John Obi doesn’t even make the Premier League’s top 100 in this category. He makes, on average, one key pass every three games and, to date, has made only one assist all season.
We also destroyed their Home records the last time City lost a match at Home was 2010.
mate last season they lost against man utd at ethiad and also to norwich at ethiad…you mistook it to city’s last match wer they failed to score was back in 2010 vs birmingham
Well said……..#CFC gang come may expect the underdog untop
Sorry for some of my wrong spellings overhere was in a haste when i forwarded these points.
at first matic and luiz were fuckin sloppy allowing yaya too much space in e middle of the park….. But az e game progressed they got so tight…. The only problem with chelsea now is that the attacking trio must know e ryt passes…… If only willian had given the ryt passes we could have bagged more…. Thats e only think i miss about mata now…. Correct n decisive pass……….
[…] What We Learned: Chelsea End Man City’s Home Run CHELSEA FC 360 | THE CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE | 3 FEBRUARY 2014 http://chelseafc360.com/2014/02/04/what-we-learned-chelsea-end-man-citys-home-run/ […]
@ tachzan,there is realy no place 4 mata in dis cfc team.did u see how even hazard was defendn.mata cant do dat.watch willian,d guy was a warrior,mata cant do al des tins.this team deserv respect.up jose.
Thanks, mata doesn’t have any place
What we also learnt that there are plastic fans at Chelsea who are now in hiding. Ppl who hate Mourinho and dint want him at Chelsea, ppl who cursed him for selling Mata and people who said Man City would destroy Chelsea. Where are all those hypocrites and losers?!!
neri abayomi!! neri abayomi!! neri abayomi!! neri abayomi!! neri abayomi!! neri abayomi!! neri abayomi!! such a hypocrite!!
The threads have gone quiet, all the “parking the bus” comments that were being prepared, all the haters ready to open the floodgates with their vile comments, all have been silenced by this excellent team and its master Mourinho! I knew Chelsea were going to win, I called it yesterday but just got the goal margin wrong, but I guess we only have posts and woodwork to blame for that!!!
What if based on our strengths and weaknesses and that of our opponents, we still decide to ‘pack the bus’?? I would still have defended our course because it’s part of the game but i’m glad we didn’t in this case..
@abayomi nd coo are all hypocrites, they only support chelsea bcoz of mikel, tank God u hv seen them some of the nigerians, shame onto u, plastic fans all of u here be my witness dat they will follow mikel out of chelsea, this is wat mikel cnt do, Matic move de ball very fast does his job briliantly wow, this is the kind of player chelsea were missing in midfield, we are shaky wen mikel plays, study it from now u will see wat am tlkin about.
when u critisize too they will flow insults on u, take him to enugu rangers we dnt need him there u can enjoy watching him more. f****s mourinho haters com out and tlk again, mourinho will destroy chelsea where are they?,@adams they were waitin for this defeat so they can jax mount their fuckin insult on him, for the first tym in 4yrs in winnig the champs league nd all dat i feel very safe for our top 4 spot nd also comfortable playin against any team datz de quality of mourinho.
@GABBY, you’re a STUPID CUNT!!! A FUCKING STUPID CUNT!!! SINCE YOU AND YOUR FELLOW RETARD HATE MIKEL, NOT BECAUSE OF HIS STYLE OF PLAY, BUT BECAUSE HE’S A NIGERIAN, DO YOURSELVES THIS FAVOUR: GO CHOKE YOURSELVES OR DROWN AT SEA. SINCE YOU CAN’T JUST BE HAPPY FOR CHELSEA’S VICTORY, WITHOUT MAKING VILE COMMENTS. WHEN MATIC WILL STARTING HIS OFF DAYS, WOE BETIDES YOU IF YOU INSULT HIM. IDIOTAS!!!
Gaby u are son of gun
Thank you @Gabby
Please guyz, we should try and respect all our views if we say we are chelsea fans..No name calling, derogatory/condescending remarks…Plss
There is only one Jose Mourinho. #Respect!
Very very disciplined performance yesterday. Hazard’s skills and touches are just stupendous. Hazard is fast turning into The Unplayable One. Mourinho tactics spot on. Willian and Ramires are tireless but need to improve on decision making. I fear for Mikel though. I don’t think he’ll be with us next season. KTBFFH
WHERE ARE THOSE MOU HATERS?. THOSE SAYIN MOU HAS NOTIN TO OFFER, THOSE SAYING HAS COM TO DESTROY BLUES, U PEOPLE REACT OUT OF HATRED WHICH COACH IS BETTER THAN DE MASTER TACTICIAN, LYK HE SAID SACK HIM NOW ND U WILL FIND HIM AT ANOTHER TEAM, A RIVAl TEAM, U TLK TOO MUCH WITH NO CLUE, NOW COM OUT ND TLK AGAIN, HAS ABAYOMI STOPED COMENTING ON THIS PAGE? OR HE IS NO MORE A CHELSEA FAN. PLASTIC F****S.PROUD TO BE PART OF THIS BLUE BLOODED FAMILY.I SAY WILL ALWAYS SAY WITH RESPECT TO HIS PAST GLORIES HE DOESNT FIT INTO THIS STYLE, EVERY PLAYER DID WELL IN WINNING THE CHAMPS LEAGUE NOT ONLY MIKEL, HE SLOW US WEN WE ARE ON COUNTER ATTACKING.
WHERE ARE THOSE MOU HATERS?. THOSE SAYIN MOU HAS NOTIN TO OFFER, THOSE SAYING HAS COM TO DESTROY BLUES, U PEOPLE REACT OUT OF HATRED WHICH COACH IS BETTER THAN DE MASTER TACTICIAN, LYK HE SAID SACK HIM NOW ND U WILL FIND HIM AT ANOTHER TEAM, A RIVAl TEAM, U TLK TOO MUCH WITH NO CLUE, NOW COM OUT ND TLK AGAIN, HAS ABAYOMI STOPED COMENTING ON THIS PAGE? OR HE IS NO MORE A CHELSEA FAN. PLASTIC F****S.PROUD TO BE PART OF THIS BLUE BLOODED FAMILY.I SAY WILL ALWAYS SAY WITH RESPECT TO HIS PAST GLORIES HE DOESNT FIT INTO THIS STYLE, EVERY PLAYER DID WELL IN WINNING THE CHAMPS LEAGUE NOT ONLY MIKEL, HE SLOW US WEN WE ARE ON COUNTER ATTACKING. I KNW THEY WILL COM OUT WITH INSULTS SOON, THAT CHILDISH BEHAVIOUR. F*****S
Mourinho:
“Today (yesterday) we won because we were the best team. We defended very well, we were very compact, we deserved it.
“A victory is a victory but a victory against a very good team is better than a victory against an ordinary team. More credit to my players.
“We love the big games. Obviously when you love it maybe you feel extra motivated for that and I keep saying, the best thing for the evolution of this team is not to play Europa League, not to be 15-20 points behind the leader but with pressure to be there, to be close to the leaders.” – [via Sky Sports]
MIKELS LYF IS IN JEOPARDY.
silver performance last night went a long way to give reasons why Mata left. They are similar in style and can easily be limited. Silver couldn’t dictate the game as he normally does. I think best definition for Hazard is Messi and Ronaldo. At the sight of Hazard, every defender tremble. Thanks to Cahill and Chelsea general Terry. Every department was awesome. Keep the Blue flag flying. Tothenham and Arsenal fall to them, but we came to redeem London, London is blue
Good self believe by our players there and kudos to Jose for his tactical exploits…
If you are here to make prejudiced analysis on a sojourned Mata or Mikel instead of the the core subject which was a “fine display” from good team work, pls keep your bickering and personal arguments to your self. Soothsayer fans have also sprung up on this site with biased comments instead of focusing on cfc’s progressive outcomes of late… pls save us the space.
Your article was exlleecnt and erudite.
this guy @kes is so uncivilised why u always insult wen it com to mikel is he ur father? fuck u, u are a child i gues
@PUREBLUE 78! Go HANG YOUR RETARD SELF!
U SEE THE BABARIC NATURE OF SOM OF THES NIGERIANS. U WILL FF HIM OUT OF CHELSEA, LYK I SAID TAKE HIM TO ENUGU RANGERS ND ENJOY HIM PLAY MORE.
Long live to Jose, a fantastic tactitian!! He has shown what he is and what players Blue to have to win best teams. He made fans quiet comments regarding z unfit Mata in his squad. Players should fit physically, technically as well as speedy playing style to be include in Jose team. This playing shows this and z depart of Mata is definetly right right. Stop comments far from reality against coach based on a fan of a player. Respect Jose!! Comments should be to improve Blue not to …!!!
Criticism, when someone errs, you point out his wrong and analyse it, with a view of a positive change. You always bears in mind he/she is person and prone to momentary lapses. Condemnation is when you hit at the person. You don’t wanna see reason why, you just go straight at the and vilify the person.
GABBY and ADAM had never ever said anything positive and seen anything good in Mikel. Whenever Chelsea had an off day and Mikel played for only a minute, he was the cause. Yet, disgusting as it seems I can take it but bringing my country into it…NEVER!
If you remember Rooney’s injury before the world cup in South Africa, at that point rivalry stopped this was ENGLAND’s point man! We all love Chelsea- or claim we do. We must learn to criticise and not condemn our players or Coaching staff. We shouldn’t also insult players country (else you want to be insulted). Ghanaians believe Mikel used voodoo on Essien. The reason why the likes of GABBY, JEFF and ADAM will rather die than say a single positive word about MIKEL.
If you think I’m lying, did any said anything good about Mikel when he scored us goals this season? For those whom my strong choice of words has offended (apart from Pureblue 78 and co) my apologies! CFC to infinity and beyond!
Sorry for the grammar-errors: Typo-errors and mind’s words faster than fingers!
Truly what a morale boasting win that was. Beating City at Etihad after that long time period is some achievement but I think Mourinho should try to win the title this season too,
I know he’s taking all about next season but this season also we’ve got a chance and we should try to make the most of it.
Great column btw
Up The Chels
Keep The Blue Flag Flying High
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