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Chelsea FC – Juan Mata Makes All the Difference
For about 55 minutes, Juan Mata was denied space and freedom, and Chelsea looked like a team that might lose to a league one side in the FA Cup replay. But then he scored, and floodgates opened for Chelsea, and Mata helped Frank Lampard look better than he really is, and gave Rafa Benitez a few more days of relaxation.
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Chelsea FC – Oscar Hides the Terrible Fernando Torres
No matter how many chances he gets, it seems that anything Fernando Torres had going for him earlier this season and then again from time to time has almost been depleted, with both Eden Hazard and Juan Mata, despite countless tries, failing to make the broken Chelsea striker to work like before. Luckily, Oscar does have some football to overcome his physical adaptation to Europe.
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Frank Lampard Continues to Get Lucky
If Chelsea do want to finally start some new era without the relics of the past, the wise thing would be to let go of Frank Lampard. Don’t let the goals distract you from the fact that Lampard hardly does anything on the pitch anymore, and his winning goal for England in the friendly match against Brazil doesn’t change his age or diminishing abilities.
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Chelsea FC – Both Demba Ba & Fernando Torres Were Useless
Another match, another loss, and another press conference in which Rafa Benitez has to make up some excuses for his team, while Frank Lampard can’t stop scoring, Juan Mata keeps playing like the best on the pitch while his striker, Demba Ba and Fernando Torres, hardly make any sort of impact.
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Chelsea FC – Juan Mata Isn’t Enough With Terrible Defense
An easy match and suddenly, another disappointing result. Juan Mata continues to be the only stable thing in the Chelsea strutcture, as their defense, without the leadership of John Terry, continues to give away goals and points while Rafa Benitez is off to a worse start for the Blues than Roberto Di Matteo had through his first 12 matches.
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Chelsea FC – Juan Mata A Level Above the Rest
For almost an entire half, under heavy snow falling down from the London skies, Chelsea looked like the dream team someone envisioned them to be earlier this season. Not Eden Hazard, not Fernando Torres and not Oscar were responsible for the blitz, the speed and flair. It all began and ended with Juan Mata and Ramires.
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Chelsea FC – Fernando Torres Back to No Confidence Days
One match on the bench and one new player at his position was all it took for Fernando Torres to look like the man he’s been for Chelsea for most of his tenure with the club.
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Chelsea FC – Demba Ba Changing the Picture
A first match, a first double. Demba Ba couldn’t have asked for a better debut in his new Chelsea uniform, but a sulking Fernando Torres in the stands makes for a less pretty picture.
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Chelsea FC – Frank Lampard Still Worth Something
Are Chelsea still title contenders or not? While the gap from the top is going to be extremely difficult to erase, they’re hitting the right kind of form during the most grueling time of the season. They’re even getting more and the most from someone who knows he’s unwanted for the next season. Frank Lampard wants to prove he needs to stay.
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Chelsea FC – The Ongoing Brilliance of Juan Mata
Everything is suddenly getting back to normal. Rafa Benitez is adjusting to life as manager of Chelsea, and the club is adjusting to his organized, less exciting ways. They’ve even re-entered the title race club, mostly thanks to the continued brilliance of Juan Mata, the real star and best player this season for a team that probably expected to be a bit higher at this stage.