Chelsea faced a trip to Anfield before hosting Arsenal just five days later, with many predicting a potential swing in momentum. But as the full time whistle was blown it could have not been any clearer that Chelsea could be champions.a
They may not have been at their best against Liverpool in midweek, but claiming a point at Anfield while Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, lost and drew respectively meant Antonio Conte’s side were able to sleep easily on their way back to west London.
Today Saturday (04/02/2017), this Chelsea side showed so much class against Arsene Wenger’s men. They are bigger, stronger and, frankly, just better than any other side in the Premier League is Perhaps the greatest compliment that can be paid to this Chelsea side. When they finally lift up the Premiere League cup come May, no one will argue that it was not worth their effort.
Looking at their opposition, who were formally known as potential title contenders. This was just another demonstration of why Arsene Wenger was horribly mistaken to believe his team might be authentic title challengers and, with four defeats in their last nine league fixtures, their concern should be how they could remain in the top-four finishes.
Marcos Alonso’s opening goal typified everything that Chelsea have been about under Conte this season. Victor Moses and Pedro – two players who have been revitalised under the Italian coach – combined on the right-hand side before crossing for Diego Costa to attack the ball at the near post.
The striker’s header may have smashed into the crossbar, but Alonso showed both more desire than Theo Walcott and superior strength compared to Hector Bellerin to ensure he forced the rebound over the line.
Marcos Alonso’s elbow inadvertently caught Héctor Bellerín on the side of the head, who dropped into the six-yard area as the Chelsea player headed in the opening goal, 13 minutes in. Some Gunners supporters questioned the legality of his leap as he led with his arm, but in truth Bellerin was just unfortunate to be left one-on-one with a player with far more physical presence and momentum with him as they battled for the header. It was easy to imagine Wenger’s protests at the side-lines had he not been given a 4-match ban from the technical area.
A close analysis of the goal showed Theo Walcott drifting back, had he made an effort he could conceivably have cleared the danger himself. Peter Cech could not quickly pick up himself after he made a first attempt to stop diego costa header from going in. Bellerín who challenged Diego Costa for the initial header, was the same player who picked himself up to try to stop Alonso after the ball struck the crossbar.
Gabriel, who replaced Bellerín, had a chance to equalise with a first-half header from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s central delivery but the athletic courtois remarkably stopped the ball from landing at the back of the net.
And, while it was solely brute force that brought about Chelsea’s opener, that strength can also be combined with sheer quality when it comes to Eden Hazard. Hazard’s goal was a beauty but a more resilient side would surely never have allowed him to run through their defence. Picking up the ball in the centre circle, he immediately set off towards goal, shrugging off Francis Coquelin in the process through his expert body position and core strength. From there, the outcome of him neatly chipping the ball over Petr Cech was inevitable. The Belgium international remains the Premier League’s best player, and his magnificent individual goal to secure victory summed up everything the winger is about.
Petr Cech, returning to the ground where he enjoyed so many highs, made a wretched error to present Cesc Fàbregas with the ball. Cesc Fabregas with ll humility seized this opportunity and added the icing against his former club with an inch-perfect lob.
This, however, was the theme of an afternoon in which Olivier Giroud’s stoppage-time header essentially meant very little.
Wenger’s team have now lost their last five visits to Stamford Bridge. Once again, we saw a key game unfold without any meaningful contribution from a physical and mentally weak Arsenal side who didn’t play like they were title contenders.
On the contrary, however, this Chelsea side looked stronger physically and, mentally.
Now the title race is becoming a procession and it is starting to feel like we are witnessing one of the great managerial performances of the modern era. Conte stalked the touchline, throwing out his arms, screaming to the skies and doing a fine impression in the more dramatic moments of someone who had realised his shoes were on fire. To see the Italian in action is to get a better understanding why Chelsea’s players dare not lower their standards and why it is starting to feel like his team are unstoppable.
Chelsea still have tough tests to come – they still have to play both Manchester sides while visits to Goodison Park, Turf Moor and the bet365 Stadium have proved difficult for the majority of the league’s top sides this term.
But Chelsea are not like the league’s top sides. They are far and away the best team in England, and it is now a matter of time before the Premier League trophy is back in the Stamford Bridge trophy cabinet. But, just as they have for much of the season, they did enough to grind out the three points.
In other news, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 'likes' @ArsenalFanTV tweet calling for Arsene Wenger to be sacked.
Below is a screen grab of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain twitter account
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