Chelsea might have just wrapped up the quarter-finals with a resounding 3-1 victory over Russian side, Rubin Kazan. Torres opened the scorecard for Chelsea, with Victor Moses adding the second. Kazan were awarded a soft penalty which was successfully taken by Natkho. Torres then clinched his second goal by heading home.
Scorers :
Stats :
What We Learned :
1 . Rafa’s tactics are clicking.
2 . Torres can deliver at the end of this season.
3 . Luiz is going to get better and better .
4 . Ryan Bertrand has made a statement of intent.
1 . Rafa’s tactics are clicking –
Rafa’s approach to squad rotation and his basic tactics look to have been fully understood by the players. Considering that this is the side that lost 2-1 to Southampton, they have done well to come-back against a side that knocked out Athletico Madrid. Losses now cannot be blamed on Rafael Benitez, it was passion that was missing from the So’ton game. Benitez put out a side that should be capable to win any type of game, and the boys showed it with complete domination. Every player in the team worked hard and they reaped the benefits.
2 . Torres can deliver at the end of this season –
The Torres of old, might never come back. However he has scored in consecutive Europa games now. Even against Southampton, he was the only player showing any kind of passion. His work-rate against Kazan was off the charts. He ran after every ball and was willing to take a shot from any angle. This willingness even helped Victor Moses score as Torres’s initial shot was blocked. As the season comes to an end, Chelsea enter a crucial part which can make or break their season . Torres has to deliver in the Europa League with Ba being cup-tied. Considering that he is finding himself in the score-sheets, he could really hit the 20 goal mark this season.
3 . Luiz is going to get better and better
That pass from Luiz was world-class. Not what you would expect from a supposed center-back. It was inch perfect and found Torres right where he wanted. Even though he had to squirm the ball past the goalkeeper and into the net, without that defense splitting lob, nothing would have been possible. His concentration was immense, and was commanding in the air. Alongside JT, he denied Kazan any kind of space and got forward as many times as he could. The possibility of him being a CDM next season is very much open. With the set of skills he has now, he could flourish in that role.
4 . Ryan Bertrand’s making a statement of intent
Lets face it, none of us ever believed that Bertrand could be a possible replacement for Ashley Cole. He still isn’t but has two weeks to prove himself. He gave in a good performance against United after coming on for the English veteran and then gave in a terrific performance against Kazan. He got forward at will and showed a nice set of skills in doing so. His recovery was also good and with the wingers also helping out in defense, he had a stellar game. Ryan won’t get a lot of chances, and its moments like these where he has to make the most of what he has.
Other Points :
1 . Marko Marin will probably be off-loaded this summer.
2 . The away goal could still turn this around for Rubin Kazan.
Ervin is busy with some work and wasn’t able to write in for this game’s “What We Learned” . I was asked to fill in and hopefully did a decent enough job.
You’ve done well.
we still need jose mourinio back to boost our side,Marin has feld to deliver he needs to be offloaded.Benitez rotation has imprest me because almost evry player is playing & am happy our strikers are scoring.
I don’t understand how you can say that Marin failed to deliver when they dont play him? Benayoun is chosen above him, something i fail to understand.
1st chelsea game in a while that I watched and thoroughly enjoyed while watching. Torres was impressive and I really hope he gets more 1st touches like the one used to collect Luiz’ long pass. That being said, Mata has been phenomenal, but I was not happy with his link up play with Torres. Mata doesn’t give killer passes when Torres is ready, either he plays it too late when Torres has given up or is offside, or Mata passes wide to another player. In this game there were about three instances where Mata was on the ball and Torres ran into space but didn’t get the ball. Torres seems to prefer passes to space and lobbed passes into the box, but what he mostly gets in Chelsea are crosses from wide and passes to feet in the box. Mata & our strikers should improve on their understanding of each other
U failed to point out lamps flaws in that mtch
We have been learning that throughout this entire season. Not just this match. Therefore it will not come under this game’s What We Learned. It would probably come under the entire season’s What We Learned.
I don’t think Lamps had a bad match. He kept the ball and his distribution was, in fact, quite good. It was quiet by his standards and he didn’t get forward often, but his work defensively was sound and his work-rate was solid as ever. He put in a real shift. Okay, not a 5-star showing, but certainly his performance did not merit a “flawed” rating?
Good article mate. Good points made out. I have one disagreement tho is Bertrand I do believe that he can become first choice and step up when Cole leaves he has proved on several occasions that he is more than capable but like every person in the world he does have a bad day in the office so to speak. People think Marin is being sold in the summer as he is not playing, he’s not playing as Rafa would rather choose the rape face looking Benayoun instead. RDM loaned Benayoun out as he wanted to use Marin then Rafa came in and recalled Benayoun which is the reason for Piazon going out on Loan to Malaga and not staying with the team when he was playing well when called upon. Not having a go mate just putting my view across still very good article
when Torres became Batman, he’s scoring?
Torres is Chelsea’s top scorer this season alongwith Mata.. and still ppl call him one of the worst players this season.. Awkward for those ppl now.. aint it..