What We Learned: West London Derby victory and guess who scored finally?!

Chelsea beat Fulham at Stamford Bridge to secure all three points and in the process go top of the BPL table on the night. The game was build up as a crisis situation for Chelsea and anything less than a win was not acceptable and according to the media Chelsea were undergoing a mini crisis situation. Crisis? What Crisis?
Chelsea started the game with Oscar in the #10 position and Mata not even in the squad a decision that didn’t go down too well with the fans. The first half didn’t have much action to talk about apart from an early chance for Eto’o and a great save from Cech to deny Bent giving Fulham a surprising lead. Chelsea were denied a penalty when Hazard was pushed in the box but the ref was not convinced, making it overall a dull half of football.

In the second half Chelsea showed a bit more urgency and played the way we expect them to and seven minutes later in the second half Chelsea broke the deadlock courtesy Oscar, who was at the right place at the right time.
From then on Chelsea more or less dominated the game and created chances notably Torres header saved by Stockdale. The save from the Fulham goalkeeper resulted in the corner which met a sumptuous strike by the player least expected to score on the pitch – John Obi Mikel. The six year wait for a goal was over, score was 2-0 and it put Chelsea back to winning ways.
We got the three points that we so badly needed but there is still plenty of work to do for Jose.

1. Mata or Oscar: The debate is fueling up:
Jose’s faith in Oscar is paying off with him being our best player so far this season but the treatment of Mata is not going down too well with the fans. The fans expect Jose to be a bit more careful in how he handles him, leaving him out of the squad is going to dent his confidence massively.
Jose’s post match comments on Mata…

“He trained this morning and my assistant that was training with them told me he trained very, very hard. Tuesday of course he plays from the beginning against Swindon. The people who didn’t play today are going to play. Juan and David Luiz and Michael Essien, Bertrand, and Azpilicueta. And I hope he tells me on the pitch, “You are wrong, I am the best and I have to play every game.”
‘The story doesn’t play. If the story , because I won two titles here, because I never lost a match here in the Premier League, nobody would criticize me but people criticize me. The past is the past and you have to be judged on what you do now. I gave Juan the chance to play from the beginning against Aston Villa, against Everton.”

2. Where is KDB?
KDB was one of the best players on the pitch vs Hull but we haven’t seen much of him since. KDB provides much needed width that helps stretch defenses providing opportunities for the likes of Oscar or Hazard to put the ball in spaces for the striker to lash on to. It’s much expected the Belgian will feature in one of the wings against Swindon on Tuesday’s capital one cup encounter and we hope he will capitalize on the chance to impress and challenge Hazard and Schurrle for there spots so far in the opening matches of the season.
3. There Isn’t much of a crisis situation after all:
Still early days in the league and the crisis situation isn’t a crisis after all. Mourinho easily shrugged off the ‘crisis’ talks from the media on his press conference before this game and we came to learn in this game why it didn’t matter at all. It was all talks to distract and find some gap holes in Jose’s team which is mentally strong and competent squad. We are now back to winning ways and all the nonsense crisis talk can rest to one side finally.
4. Oscar is Chelsea’s best player of the opening season so far: 
Brazilian star Oscar is proving it hard for Chelsea two time player of the year Juan Mata to make a return to the side by providing great performances game after game as Jose’s undisputed No. 10 behind the striker. As Mourinho publicly claimed on Friday’s press conference ahead of this game, Oscar is his preferred player for that position and Mata as well as others that want to play there have to earn the position or adapt to either of the wings on the side. Oscar scored his 3rd goal of the season against Fulham when he opened the score with a shot close in the penalty box. What we can take away from this fact is that Jose will always play the best man for each specific task and Oscar seems to be that guy in the No. 10 role unfortunately for Mata who has to earn the right to be favored and it seems a hard test to overtake the Brazilian of the spot.
5. Mikel has scored, Now the Chelsea fans can die in peace:
Finally, there was praise for Mikel, who broke his 261-game goal drought that had lasted since Mourinho’s first spell in charge. It was in the 84th minute that the Nigerian rises high up in the air and sent the ball into the back of the net with an emphatic acrobatic finish that sent goosebumps through all CFC fans watching live at home and those at Stamford Bridge. We are all surely proud and happy for our underrated at times, hard working midfield star John Obi Mikel to score his first goal since January 2007. Let’s rejoice that moment of brilliance until we see his next goal for the Blues which surely wouldn’t take that long to come. Here is what Jose said about Mikel’s goal… “Good for him, good for us. I think good for his confidence. And I think people enjoyed seeing John score a goal. The goal was a shot in a set-piece, in a corner, a rebound, the finishing was good and he was in the position, but the important thing for me is he played a good game, he gave balance and stability. He kept very good control of the game, so I am happy with the way John is playing.”
Notice: We sincerely apologize for the late publication of What We Learned for the joyous victory of the West London Derby against Fulham. Next one will be much earlier like in normal times. Thanks for reading and follow me on twitter(@FahmiCFC and @HnK_89 Hammad who assisted with article as well). KTBFFH!!!