Posts Tagged ‘Juan Mata’

2011/2012 Premier League Review – The Good

For this year’s season review we will start with the positive points that can be taken from a difficult and painful Premier League campaign.

Juan Mata

The signing of the season he has been a revelation in his debut season in the Premier League his creativity was a breath of fresh air, even if in some games he was underutilised due to the heavy handed tactics of the opposition.

A travesty that he was not nominated for Premier League accolades, particular the team of the year,  at least Chelsea fans appreciated his performances, as he became a debut season fans player of the year.

At just 24 he has plenty of seasons left in him and has the potential to be a Chelsea great and a deserving fans player of the year.

Mata Stats

PL Games: 34

Goals: 6

Assists: 13

Ramires

It took him six months to settle but his form this term has been exemplary bringing strength and style to the right hand side of our midfield.

An injury meant he missed a couple of months of the season but he came back with a bang.

He has been a beacon of light in a disappointing season and he could not have been far away in the fans player of the year awards.

Ramires Stats

PL Games: 30

Goals: 5

Assists:1

Branislav Ivanovic

An established Chelsea hero since his Champions League brace against Liverpool a couple of years ago, versatile as ever he has been a rock this season.

A no-nonsense player he has been consistently brilliant for Chelsea and is in my mind the first name on the defensive teamsheet these days, dare I say it ahead of John Terry.

Ivanovic Stats

Games: 29

Goals: 3

Assists: 1

Petr Cech

He has simply been back to his best this season, with some match winning performances that often get lost in the other game action.

A brilliant shot stopper he has improved the other areas of his game and the confidence seems to be well and truly back.

Next season will be his 8^th for Chelsea and with Thibaut Courtois waiting in the wings he will have to be at his best again next season.

Petr Cech Stats

Games: 34

Saves: 84

Clean Sheets: 10

FA Cup Semifinal Report – Chelsea v Spurs

Wembley continued to live up to its reputation as Chelsea’s second home as we handed T*ttenham Hotsp*r a 5-1 thrashing in the semifinal of the FA Cup on Sunday. With both league games ending in draws, the scoreline asserted the Blues’ superiority over our London rivals despite the battle yet to come in the league.

It is the sixth year that the FA Cup final has returned to Wembley following its renovation, and Chelsea have been part of the showpiece event on 4 of those occasions. In all the three previous finals that we have played, we have come out as winners.

Interim manager Roberto Di Matteo continues to cast his magic spell in cup competitions, which serves as a good omen as we move into what could be another epic battle with Barcelona for a spot in the final of the Champions League.

This semifinal win meant the Italian has the opportunity to return to Wembley for the final in May, the same stage where he himself excelled as a player for Chelsea during the late 90’s. On this occasion, the opponents will be Liverpool who overcame their neighbours Everton in the other semifinal on Saturday.

Team selection:

Chelsea were without the suspended Branislav Ivanovic, so the right-back spot was taken by Jose Bosingwa who got the nod ahead of Paulo Ferreira. David Luiz started in central defence alongside captain John Terry.

Up front, Didier Drogba was given the chance to extend his fantastic record at Wembley, with Fernando Torres on the bench. He was flanked by his compatriot from Ivory Coast Salomon Kalou and Brazilian Ramires, with Juan Mata in a supporting role behind him.

Sp*rs manager Harry Redknapp did not have available the services of centre-backs Michael Dawson and Younes Kaboul. In their absence, it was the veteran duo of Ledley King and former Chelsea defender William Gallas who started. Another former Chelsea favourite, Carlo Cudicini, made a surprise start in goal for the North London side.

They had captain Scott Parker, also a former Chelsea player, back from injury in the middle of the park, alongside Chelsea transfer target Luca Modric. Up front, Redknapp opted to go with Emmanuel Adebayor supported by Dutch international Rafael van der Vaart, with width being provided by the pacy duo of Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon.

First Half:

The first chance of the game came on 12 minutes when David Luiz booted a long ball up to Drogba who shook off Gallas, but failed miserably in his shooting attempt. The same method of attack would pay off later, though.

The big man was in the thick of the action on what is his most prolific ground (except Stamford Bridge), this time picking up a booking for a trip on Lennon in the middle of the park. Both sides had started off reasonably brightly compared to the dull 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge 3 weeks ago, but neither goalkeeper was called upon in the first 25 minutes.

Soon, Chelsea had a genuine chance when Kalou raced away down the left into space vacated by T*ttenham’s advanced personnel. He found Mata in the area with a beautiful through ball, but the little Spaniard failed to control and the ball landed in Cudicini’s grateful arms.

Chelsea were always likely to get opportunities to capitalise on from wide positions with T*ttenham heavily favouring the wings while attacking. Another break on the left by Kalou ended in a good cross towards a marked Drogba. The striker did manage to get a header away but it went wide of the near post.

T*ttenham then had a couple of good chances of their own from the wings. First, Gareth Bale managed to cross into the area and an exchange of headers between Lennon and Van der Vaart led to a headed effort on goal by the latter. John Terry was on hand to clear off the line, not for the first time in his career.

Next, a teasing cross into the area by Van der Vaart, initially aimed towards the head of Adebayor, missed everyone and turned into an effort on goal. The ball curled towards the far post with Petr Cech stranded in the middle of the goal. Luckily for him, the post came to the rescue and the danger was averted.

In the 42^nd minute, Drogba struck. And it was a vintage goal. From a long ball by Lampard from Chelsea’s half, the Ivorian controlled brilliantly and spun past Gallas before unleashing a shot into the roof of the net. Cudicini had no chance. Gallas had failed to obey the first rule when dealing with his former teammate – not to get too close.

As a result, T*ttenham went in a goal down at the break despite having equality in terms of play and probably the better chances. Chelsea would have been happy with the half-time scoreline but wary due to recent games when we have let the game slip after going ahead.

Second Half:

It was Chelsea who started the second half on the front foot, with Ramires racing Sp*rs left-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto on the right wing before crossing. The ball was cleared, though. A couple of minutes later and Cudicini was called upon again to push away a low shot from Mata after Chelsea had worked the ball well on the left flank.

From the corner that followed, Chelsea scored a controversial second goal. Cudicini had initially done well to save Luiz’s header. The ball eventually came to Mata who shot into a mass of bodies at the T*ttenham goalmouth including Cudicini, Terry and a couple of Sp*rs defenders.

Replays were inconclusive as to whether the ball crossed the line, but referee Martin Atkinson pointed to the centre circle, and Chelsea had a two-goal cushion. There was much fury among the T*ttenham players and fans, and although the goal may or may not have been legitimate, it was no more than the Blues deserved after coming out positively after half-time.

Perhaps it was the anger at the supposed injustice that spurred on T*ttenham and they did threaten more in the subsequent minutes. Seven minutes after Chelsea’s second, this threat bore fruit as T*ttenham pulled a goal back.

Their captain Parker played a well-weighted ball through the middle of the Chelsea defence towards Adebayor. Once his marker Luiz pulled out of the race, he was able to beat the onrushing Cech to slip in Bale. The Welshman turned the ball into the empty net.

In the build-up to the goal, Luiz had pulled up and gone to ground with what seemed to be a hamstring-related injury. With the important fixtures coming up in Chelsea’s season, it will be a blow to miss the tenacity of the curly-haired Brazilian. Gary Cahill was brought on in his place.

He was quickly into the action, but at the other end. From a corner on 75 minutes, Drogba headed down setting up the England international for a volley on the turn. It went just over. He also did well soon after in his own half to keep pace with Bale and clear the ball out of danger.

A minute later, though, Chelsea had restored their two-goal advantage. This time it came as a result of pure footballing class. Lampard played in Mata who was surprisingly given a lot of space in the middle and he made T*ttenham pay.

He dinked a delightful chip to find the run of Ramires, who had managed to shake off the attentions of Assou-Ekotto. The Brazilian took a good first touch before chipping over Cudicini for a well-deserved goal. He had been keeping the Sp*rs left-back busy all game and had done well to pounce at the exact moment when the latter went to sleep.

T*ttenham seemed to have the wind taken out of them and soon Chelsea were piling on the misery. Drogba had tormented Gallas and King throughout the game and slipped past Gallas near the centre circle, the latter again making the mistake of getting too close to the powerful Ivorian.

The French defender was forced to clip Drogba from behind to stop him and earned a yellow card for his efforts. The foul had occurred 30 yards from goal and it was prime Drogba territory, but it was Lampard who stepped up to take the free kick.

And what a free kick it was. It wasn’t so much the curl on the ball as the power and placement that did Cudicini. The ball dipped just as it was nearing the goal and the Italian stood no chance. It was 4-1 to Chelsea on 80 minutes.

The game was effectively sealed and delivered, so Di Matteo took the opportunity to rest some tired legs ahead of the visit of European champions Barcelona to the Bridge on Wednesday. Florent Malouda and Fernando Torres replaced Ramires and Drogba respectively. Both had put in stellar performances.

The newcomers should have been the participants in Chelsea’s fifth goal, however Malouda overcooked a cross into Torres with the latter free in front of goal. The Spaniard may yet get a chance for glory on the Wembley turf against his former side in three weeks.

But it was not yet over. Most of the Sp*rs fans were not there to see it as they had already left, but Mata was again given acres of space in the middle and this led to Chelsea’s fifth, a carbon copy of the third goal by Ramires.

This time, the move was on the left of the area and it was Malouda on the receiving end of another perfect chip over the defence from Mata. The Frenchman did well to roll the ball under the feet of Cudicini. He is another Chelsea player who relishes the big occasion, and Wembley in particular.

Closing Notes:

It was a perfect evening at Wembley, despite news of the one-minute silence for the victims of the Hillsborough tragedy not being observed by a minority of fans, and the controversial nature of the second goal.

It was a lesson in footballing class handed out to Sp*rs who were lagging behind the Blues in all departments of the game. In some ways, this was the most complete performance we have seen under the stewardship of Di Matteo.

There was superb play in midfield with Mata being the primary catalyst, but a mention must also go to Lampard who controlled the game from a deeper position, one he is getting used to as the games go by. John Obi Mikel continued his excellent form in defensive midfield. Together, they were able to stifle the likes of Modric and Van der Vaart.

On the wings, Ramires was his usual energetic self and got himself a well-deserved goal and equally well-deserved rest. It was also interesting to see Luiz, and later Cahill, coming across to cover for Bosingwa and deal with the threat of Gareth Bale with minimum fuss.

It was fantastic to see the interim boss smiling after Chelsea had completed their romp, celebrating with his assistant Eddie Newton. Together, their goals won Chelsea two FA Cup finals, in 1997 and 2000. It will be fitting that they will be at the helm when we return to Wembley Stadium for the final on the 5^th of May.

We’re going to Wembley …. Again!

CAREFREE.

You can find me on Twitter @Celeryphile

Match Report – Chelsea v Wigan

Chelsea continued to test the nervous systems of the fans as an injury-time winner from Juan Mata gave us a crucial 2-1 win over Wigan Athletic on Saturday. It was an uninspiring performance at Stamford Bridge, but after having let Wigan equalise late on in the game, it was a huge relief as we finished with all three points.

It is a pattern we have followed in our last three games, which means interim manager Roberto Di Matteo now has 8 wins from the 10 games he has been in charge. He has completed just over a month as the main man following the dismissal of Andre Villas-Boas.

Team Selection:

The Italian was without the services of experienced English trio – captain John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole – due to injury. Midfielder Ramires was also on the sidelines with an illness.

The congested fixture schedule meant that there were 7 changes from the midweek win over Benfica. Gary Cahill and Ryan Bertrand came in to replace John Terry and Ashley Cole in defence, with the defensive midfield being composed of Michael Essien and Raul Meireles.

Up front, there was a rest for Fernando Torres, with Didier Drogba leading the line on the day. With Ramires out, Daniel Sturridge started at right wing. Florent Malouda also found a place at left-wing in Di Matteo’s 4-2-3-1 system.

For Wigan, striker Hugo Rodallega remained out, so former Chelsea youngster Franco Di Santo started up front. Midfielder Mohamed Diame was returning from an injury, but only started on the bench. They started with a three-man defence with the wide players quite deep to make a five.

First Half:

The first half began in a pedestrian manner with not much happening at either end. Ryan Bertrand did well to curl a cross into the danger area, and Drogba’s header fell to Malouda who struggled to adjust himself. In the end, he did get a shot away, but it went horribly wide for a throw-in.

Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi was called in early on when Cahill decided let rip with a drive from 25 yards, which was tipped over by the Omani. At the other end, Petr Cech was worked himself with a couple of long-range efforts, but neither side was threatening with much pressure.

The most interesting point of the half came on 35 minutes when Mata got in behind the right side of Wigan’s defence to latch on to a Drogba through ball. He cleverly duped a defender before shooting straight at Al-Habsi with his right foot. The rebound came to Drogba, whose header was cleared off the line by Maynor Figueroa.

In first half stoppage time, there was a decent move on Chelsea’s left which ended in a good cross from Malouda towards Drogba. The Ivorian’s header was tipped over by the Wigan ‘keeper, who was having a good game.

The first half ended and despite forcing Al-Habsi into a few saves, Chelsea had not been dominating the game. The play was largely lethargic, lacking in imagination and slow in tempo. Juan Mata as the Blues’s most creative influence was showing signs of the fixture schedule taking its toll on him.

The fans had been let down by the players in the first half, but that did not spoil the atmosphere, with a pigeon being the focus of a series of chants from the Shed End. Such was the quality of football on display.

Second Half:

The second half began with the fans starting to get anxious about not being able to score against the 19^th placed side. However, there did not appear to be a half-time reaction from the players with the only meaningful action in the first few minutes of the second half being Malouda getting booked for a challenge on James McCarthy in the 54^th minute.

The crowd started chanting for Torres to come on and Di Matteo soon brought on the Spanish striker in place of Malouda just before the hour mark. Torres went to the right wing with Sturridge switching to the left flank.

The next few minutes, though, were all about Branislav Ivanovic. Having won a foul with a typical run down the right, the free kick was initially cleared but Meireles played it back into the area. It fell nicely to Ivanovic’s right foot and he diverted it into the goal.

The Wigan players surrounded the linesman, complaining about Ivanovic being offside. They had a point, too, with the Serb being a couple of yards offside. However, it is about time Chelsea got a refereeing decision going our way.

The Latics came straight back to the other end and Bertrand made a fantastic challenge on forward Victor Moses in the penalty area, but the ball fell to Di Santo whose shot looked goalbound, but Ivanovic was in the right place to clear it off the line.

Sturridge missed a chance to give Chelsea a two-goal cushion, but his shot flew wide with Torres well placed in the middle. The England youngster received some rather overblown admonishments from the crowd. He is still a young player and although he does seem to be selfish at times, there is time for him to learn yet.

With 10 minutes to go, Wigan equalised. Mohamed Diame had been brought on as a substitute and he ended his run in front of the 18-yard box with a stunning left-footed effort that left Cech rooted to the spot. Wigan deserved to be level.

It seemed to have gone horribly wrong for the Chelsea fans, and it looked like the quest for fourth place was fizzling out. Wigan almost took the lead immediately after their equaliser as Moses’s drive across goal missed everyone.

The game entered injury time and Wigan defender Gary Caldwell showed no inhibition as he entered the area to have his shot blocked by David Luiz. But Chelsea have looked good on the counter of late, and with the defender out of the picture, the Blues capitalised.

Mata started the move by beating his man near the centre circle, before chipping to Drogba on the left. The Ivorian’s perfect cross was met by a superb volley by Torres, which careened off the post. But Mata, who had continued his run into the box, somehow managed to divert the ball into the net. Chelsea had managed to salvage the win in the end.

Closing notes:

Although not the ideal circumstances for people with a heart condition, Chelsea under Di Matteo continue to rack up the wins. With Tottenham only drawing at Sunderland, we move within 3 points off the North London side. Arsenal play Manchester City on Sunday.

There were some positive performances, most notably from Bertrand on his full league debut for Chelsea. The England youngster looked at home in the left-back position as he has done whenever he has played, and few Chelsea fans will be fretting in case Ashley Cole is unavailable.

Another positive is the new-found ability of the team to win ugly, despite not being at their best. At this stage of the season, results are all that matter. On to Fulham on Monday.

CAREFREE.

You can find me on Twitter @Celeryphile.

Juan Mata On His First Six Months At Chelsea – Video Clip

Juan Mata has had a fantastic impact for Chelsea since joining from Valencia in the summer, he has scored some fantastic goals and been one of the few creative sparks we have had in a difficult season so far.

One of the aspects that can be difficult for any player is adapting to a new environment. Through the mediums of YouTube and Twitter Juan Mata has allayed any fears that he may be struggling to settle in with a video to his fans in Spain documenting his life in England.

Whilst there are some obviously stereotypical questions and answers in what is hardly a controversial or probing interview. It is great to see a professional footballer communicating with his fans so openly.

This is fantastic PR for such little effort, lets hope that other players follow in his footsteps.

Download on your iPhone here  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ktbffh-true-blue-app/id498138842?mt=

Or on Android – http://ow.ly/91BPx

Few Positives In Carling Cup Defeat

Ryan Bertrand shines for Chelsea

Another poor Chelsea performance and another loss to Liverpool, however this time there is no hiding from the fact that we were poor.

I am going to attempt to find some positives in an abject display and it is in the performances of Oriol Romeu and Ryan Bertrand who did their growing reputations no harm with two solid performances.

I can see Romeu getting even more gametime as he proves to AVB and the fans that he deserves a place in the team ahead of John Obi Mikel.

The future is also bright for Bertrand who should see himself as the natural successor to Ashley Cole, hopefully when Cole needs resting he will get the call.

Back tonight the performance was lacklustre for all but the last 20 minutes where the introduction of Nicholas Anelka and Juan Mata gave us some much needed width which we could not capitalise on.

We are having some frustrating times at the moment but I will keep the faith, for now in AVB we trust.