A great victory last weekend in the Premier League, against a team that were just beginning to show some title form, and on their own patch.
Juan Mata and Fernando Torres had not been at their best in recent weeks, but they turned on the style here, as the Spanish sizzlers burnt Arsenal to a crisp. Mata had been given a two-week break, which revitalized him, which we will discuss more tomorrow. As for Torres, many people were quick to claim he was “back to normal” following a few games without getting on the scoresheet, although a tidy finish early on set the Chelsea ball rolling.
John Terry was also a questionable selection, after the FA decided he was worthy of a 4-match ban following his actions towards Anton Ferdinand. However, he was not fazed at all, as a fantastic performance from him and Luiz, limited Arsenal to just the single goal, after they had put six past Southampton just days before.
Part of that was also due to Petr Cech, who at only 30, has only just reached the peak of his career, made a few fantastic saves to deny Arsenal’s new strikeforce.
A Chelsea loss here wouldn’t have taken any creditability off their title challenge, but an away win proves they are here for business, and the four point gap they have opened over their title challengers after just six games puts heed to that claim.
Whether they can keep it up is a different story however, they face both Manchester clubs, Liverpool, and bitter rivals Tottenham in a tricky next seven games, where the league will begin to take shape some more, as many people are waiting to see if Everton manage to keep up their great form, leaving them second at the moment.
This was Chelsea’s first big challenge of the season, and they came out of it with flying colours, and few would back against them at least being in with a shout of winning the title this season, providing the defence continues to stay firm, and Torres continues to get on the scoresheet.
Only time will tell.
By Brad Smith
Follow @BrummieBrad
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