Favorites to win the Premier League title or something along these lines, Chelsea beat Real Sociedad in their final warm up to the new Premier League season; a 2-0 victory coming with two quick goals from Diego Costa, feeling quite comfortable on his home debut at Stamford Bridge.
Costa scored the opening goal after only 57 seconds with Ramires providing him with the pass. Eight minutes later Andre Schurrle struck the woodwork which allowed Costa to score an easy goal, making it four for the Spaniard-Brazilian in this preseason, and providing Jose Mourinho with another opportunity to praise his signings, and via that himself.
Chelsea played with their strongest line up except for Nathan Ake starting at left back. Thibaut Courtois was on the goalline, with the Terry-Cahill duo in the centre of defense while Branislav Ivanovic continues to be preferred as the team’s right back. The midfield trio revolves around Nemanja Matic, with Cesc Fabregas and Ramires a bit more forward and wider.
The front trio will begin with Costa, Schurrle and Eden Hazard, still trying to recover from his awful tournament in Brazil. Obviously, the rotation will kick in very soon when it’s more than just the Premier League they have to play, but the default option seems to be this lineup, with Filipe Luis who was introduced in the second half starting at left back most likely next time we see Chelsea play.
After not winning a single title with his teams over the last couple of seasons, Jose Mourinho can’t afford to have another year with more famous lines in the media than famous victories. Chelsea, on paper, are a stronger team this season compared to the previous one. However, the Premier League hasn’t become easier with the way certain teams have improved or at least not gotten weaker.
One question that obviously preseason matches will never answer has to do with Mourinho, and his tendency to play more cynical football. A manager doesn’t change that much, but he does have more to play better football with this season. It remains to be seen if he’ll actually do it.