Posts Tagged ‘fernando torres’

THAT Fernando Torres Goal From Chelsea End at Nou Camp

If Chelsea win the 2012 Champions League then the goal from Fernando Torres at the Nou Camp could prove to be a defining moment in the history of Chelsea and the legacy of Torres in Blue.

I am not to keen on the chatting on the background but here is a view from the stand of Fernando Torres scoring in the 91st minute to seal our semi-final victory.

Keep The Blue Flag Flying High with this ultimate app for any Blues fan.

Benfica v Chelsea – First Leg Tactical Analysis

An over-used cliché following last Tuesday’s win is that Chelsea pulled off a “perfect away result”. This of course refers to the fact that we kept a clean sheet, while also nicking a goal to give us a firm footing going into the second leg this Wednesday.

Chelsea in control:

What was more pleasing and went slightly unnoticed was the fact that we controlled the whole game from start to finish. Now, there are different ways of controlling a game. Chelsea under Jose Mourinho controlled matches keeping possession in our own half and looking to attack with deadly direct play involving quick forward-pressed wingers.

Also, you can defensively control a game like Guus Hiddink did when we traveled to Barcelona in 2009. Pundits may have called us “enemies of football” back then, but it was a master-class in how to play at the Nou Camp, with men behind the ball and a very stringent zonal marking system.

In some periods of the double-winning season, Carlo Ancelotti’s Chelsea would keep the ball for long periods, moving it around and testing the concentration of the opposition. But under Andre Villas-Boas, although we secured some excellent results early in the season, there was never an impression that Chelsea were really controlling the football match.

Team selection:

It was a surprising selection put out by Di Matteo, with non-regulars Salomon Kalou and Paulo Ferreira making it into the starting eleven. Although Ferreira had not played for Chelsea since New Year’s Eve, most Chelsea fans would have been pleased to see him, rather than Jose Bosingwa, replace Branislav Ivanovic at right back.

Like Chelsea, our opponents had lined up in their traditional 4-2-3-1 system, with Pablo Aimar supporting Oscar Cardozo in attack. The midfield dual pivot included the deeper Javi Garcia and the poetically named Axel Witsel, slightly more advanced. Chelsea had John Obi Mikel and Raul Meireles in equivalent positions.

Battle of the Wings:

Their wide players, Nicolas Gaitan on the right and Bruno Cesar on the left, are both left footed and both initially struggled against Ashley Cole and Ferreira respectively. Both of Chelsea’s wing selections, Kalou and Ramires, were made keeping in mind the threat posed by these two players.

The wingers became frustrated by around the 27^th minute and Benfica manager Jorge Jesus asked them to switch. This did result in some better play from Cesar against Cole on Chelsea’s left wing. Kalou was having to track back to defend Benfica’s more attacking full-back Maxi Pereira.

On the other side, Gaitan was still being picked off by Ferreira and with him reluctant to track back, Ramires was having a field day against left-back Emerson, who was not advancing as much as Pereira on the other wing, possibly fearful of bursts of counter-attacking pace from the turbo-charged Brazilian.

Ramires the Unfatigue-able:

The crucial element on the night was Ramires. The Brazilian, with his amazing speed and stamina, is a tactical delight for any manager. Firstly, because he can cover two or three positions simultaneously and secondly, because he follows the manager’s instructions in detail.

The interesting thing about Ramires’s positioning was he was effectively playing the “shuttle” role that made Chelsea buy him from Benfica. With their left-back wary of venturing forward, Ramires took up a more central position when Chelsea lost the ball, and it became a pseudo 3-man midfield. He was still energetic enough to shift positions quickly if the need arose to double-team Gaitan.

Extra man in midfield:

This allowed Chelsea an extra man in the middle of the park, with Garcia sitting deep in order to keep Juan Mata quiet. John Obi Mikel as the Blues’ most defensive-minded midfielder was doing well to pick up second balls whenever Benfica looked to use balls into Cardozo, with John Terry winning the aerial battle against the forward.

This meant Benfica’s only threatening mode of attack was with the 2-on-2 situation on their right wing, and Cesar was able to use Pereira’s runs to cut inside and get a couple of shots away. On a couple of occasions, he also mixed it up with taking on Cole on the outside before crossing, but Chelsea’s central defenders were winning all the headers.

Terry and David Luiz were complementing each other well, with the captain dealing with the lanky and strong Cardozo, while David Luiz often stepped out to make crucial interceptions and tackles, which effectively nullified the influence of the tricky Argentine Aimar.

The importance of being earnest:

Up front, Di Matteo had preferred to use Fernando Torres instead of Didier Drogba, and it turned out to be an excellent choice. The Spaniard had done a good job in a similar role against Manchester City the week before.

Similar to the City game, the primary aim was to defend, so Torres often found himself having no one for company up front, with Mata being well-marked by Javi Garcia. But he played the lone furrow extremely well, keeping the Benfica central defenders busy with his industry and pace.

His hold-up play was also excellent and this often allowed Kalou and Ramires to advance while the ball was at the striker’s feet. He tends to drift to the wings a lot, which is sometimes a reason for his lack of goals, but in this game it was a genuine strategy to get him to run in behind Benfica’s full backs.

The goal:

The only goal of the game, in fact, came out of a combination of Ramires and Torres. On a rare forward push from the left-back Emerson, Ramires intercepted the ball before easily beating him for pace. This led to Javi Garcia being pulled out of position, but just as he got close to Ramires, Torres made a fantastic run into the channel on the right. His marker Jardel was no match for Torres in terms of pace.

With the Benfica shape being skewed by the quick counter-attack and their defensive midfielder being eliminated from the game, there was all the space in the world for Kalou and Mata to make their way into the box. Torres found Kalou beautifully with his measured cross, and the Ivorian made no mistake.

Closing notes:

The interesting tactical points of this game were the influence of Ramires’s immense pace and stamina, and the isolated striker role played extremely well by Torres. Another factor was that we did not give the ball away as much as in some previous games.

John Obi Mikel is extremely important in this regard, with his excellent touch and ability to hold off players. Although Meireles did not have a great game alongside him, he did not do anything ultra-rubbish either.

Of course, the second leg will be a totally different story in terms of tactics from the managers. To be fair, better was expected from Benfica as a side which made their way into the Champions League quarterfinals.

It will not come as a surprise if they up their game as they come to the Bridge with no pressure and not much to lose. Chelsea will have to be extremely wary of letting them into the game. Di Matteo will hope we can control the game like we did in Lisbon.

I can be found on Twitter @Celeryphile

Fernando Torres Scores For Chelsea (Finally) – Video

www.hastorresscoredforchelsea.com

Phew, what a relief after two months of waiting , the most expensive player in English football has finally scored for Chelsea.

Since signing opposition fans, the media and anyone who does not fit the description of a Chelsea fan has been revelling in the misfortunes of the striker as he desperately tried to break his duck.

Despite this and the obvious frustration of him misfiring Chelsea fans have continously showed their support to the striker urging him on at every opportunity which was helped by the determination and general level of commitment shown by the striker.

Earlier this week Carlo Ancelotti said that a goal would be the best medicine for Torres and I have to agree and hope that we will now see a goal scoring run.

Theres not really much more to say below is a video, but you may want to turn the sound off!

Chelsea 2011 Transfer Coup – Torres and Luiz Sign

There are two new player in blue

Well it has been a nervous 24 hours or so as the liklihood of both deals were both off and back on again but it is official.

Chelsea have signed Fernando Torres and David Luiz in the January 2011 transfer window, in what has been the most exciting transfer window for Chelsea fans since the 2004 close season when Abramovich first opened his wallet.

So what do you think of our transfer activity in this window? Have we overpaid and does it matter?

Transfer Window Summary

In

Fernando Torres (Liverpool) – £50m

David Luiz (Benfica) - £21m + Nemanja Matic

Both players will be available for this weekend’s fixture which in poetic justice is against Liverpool no less should be some good territory to wind up the Scousers at the Bridge on Sunday!

Out

Jacob Mellis (Barnsley) – Loan

Daniel Sturridge (Bolton) – Loan

A note on Daniel Sturridge’s loan a good move for all I think do you agree?

A Striking Dilemma

Is Fabio Borini the Future of Chelsea's frontline?

As the media keeps reporting Chelsea are tracking various high profile strikers, we can only hope that one of these rumours might be true. Torres, Suarez and Aguero have already proved themselves on the international stage and would be great strikepartners to Didier Drogba.

Sergio Aguero has made it known that he would like to play at Chelsea along side the likes of John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba. Furthermore, he mentioned that he would like to link up with Fernando Torres at Chelsea. The Argentinian who is married to Diego Maradona’s daughter has great goal scoring ability.

Torres is well known to Chelsea fans, the fastest man to reach to 50 Premier League goals, he also holds the record for scoring the most goals scored by an overseas player during their debut Premier League season. With Torres hungry for Champions League Football, I hope that he will make the easy choice and choose Chelsea over Liverpool.

Luis Suarez scored 49 goals last season for Ajax and contributed to Uruguay’s dream run to the semi-finals in the 2010 World Cup. Suarez has played a supporting striker throughout his career for the likes of Diego Forlan, Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Marko Pantelic. A potential partnership with Didier Drogba could gift Chelsea Football Club another record breaking goal tally next season.

Looking at less established strikers Romelu Lukaku is probably Europe’s most sought after youngster. A Chelsea fan, he was recently pictured wearing the new Chelsea home kit at Stamford Bridge. The Belgian 17-year old already has 2 caps for Belgium and will give anything to join Didier Drogba at Chelsea.

The real question to ask ourselves is that is it necessary to sign another striker? Especially when we have Daniel Sturridge and Fabio Borini already at the club, there are also others such as young Jacopo Sala desperate for a chance to shine?

Therefore do we need to spend money to make more of a crowd in the striking department? Daniel Sturridge who could be England’s future, should be given a chance in the first team after managing 5 goals in his first season at the club from limited appearances.

The question I put to you and the club is, who should be preffered, should we favour Torres or Suarez over Sturridge and Borini?