Totting up the positives in the display at Turf
Moor and counting down the days until he can
watch the team play again, former Chelsea star
and columnist Pat Nevin writes with enthusiasm…
Sometimes it is difficult to know what to write
about, but today the problem is to know what to
leave out after such an impressive performance
last night by the Blues.
The trip to Turf Moor was supposed to be a tricky
affair and after Scott Arfield's early world-class
strike for Burnley, there was a moment when you
thought this could be a long night, but it was only
a moment. Chelsea went through the gears at such
a rate that you almost felt a little sorry for Burnley
as the half wore on. It was blistering stuff and
after the third there was the possibility of an
avalanche of goals. After the break however it was
a controlled performance designed to secure the
points and save early season legs, it is of course a
marathon not a sprint.
From back to front there wasn't a Chelsea player
lower than an 8/10 and most were nines. The
headlines were waiting for Thibaut Courtois if he
made one slip up after being preferred to the
legend that is Petr Cech, but he was faultless and
any headlines will be positive. I honestly think
that not only is he currently the best in the
business at collecting crosses, I must say I cannot
remember ever seeing a goalkeeper more adept in
that area. His shot-stopping is of course world-
class as well, but it is hard to describe how happy
it makes defenders when they know that any cross
in the vicinity of the Belgian quite simply isn't a
danger. He makes a difficult skill look like child's
play. It was an understated master class on his
competitive debut.
The back four was its usual ultra-dependable self
and in front of them Nemanja Matic was
imperious. I wanted to mention the back line first
because they might just get left out to some
degree in the newspapers, because those in front
looked so unstoppable for a 35-minute period in
the first half. Yes of course it was 'only' Burnley,
but I think we witnessed some of the most
pleasing-on-the-eye football we have seen from a
Chelsea team. Solidity allied with boundless
creativity, magnificent work rate and world-class
skill is a rare combination for any side, but they
were all there.
Cesc Fabregas had vision and touches that were
bordering on artistic at times and Eden Hazard in
full flow looked the match of Frank Ribery at his
best, and he is one of the best players in the world
when he is on song. Diego Costa will get plenty of
headlines and considering what he brings to the
team I fully expect that to continue all season, in
fact I think he will improve even though his link-
up play was quite clearly the missing link Chelsea
have been looking for these last few years.
If pressed I would probably have given Andre
Schurrle the man of the match award. The energy
we know about and the goal was sweetly taken
even if Fabregas's pass was the real highlight of
that particular move, but it is what he added to
the team that had me swooning. Finally we have a
player who will continually try to run beyond
defences to scare the living daylights out of any
opposition. The effects of this are numerous, it
clearly not only leads to chances for himself but
stretches the game allowing space for Hazard,
Oscar and Cesc to get on the ball in dangerous
areas.
After the game Andre said that he knows his team
mates can and will pick him out when he goes
long, so he will continue to do it. It adds the final
weapon to what is already an impressive arsenal.
On top of that we again look incredibly dangerous
from good old-fashioned set-pieces with Ivanovic,
JT, Matic, Costa and Cahill all hugely dangerous
in that area.
Before the season started I was asked on various
media outlets about who I thought would win the
league and even before this impressive start I
thought that Chelsea, because of the balance, the
variety of threats and the quality of defenders
were slight favourites in my eyes over Manchester
City. I reckon quite a few more people may think
that way after the first weekend.
It is however worth remembering that it is only
the first weekend. We had very nearly a fully fit
squad to choose from and that will not always be
the case, so a reality check is always on the
horizon, especially with many tougher tests to
come. If however I was a City, Liverpool or
Arsenal fan I would be in no doubt that this team,
with this manager and his ability to adapt and
change styles, (just consider the controlled
performance in the second half to kill the game
instead of getting over excited), is the one to
watch.
I am already looking forward to the Leicester
game at the weekend and for a variety of reasons.
The biggest one of all is that I am looking forward
to being entertained. We not only have what looks
like a winning mentality throughout the group but
also plenty who are capable of doing something
extra special to get me off my seat and talking
about them for the rest of the week. This time it
was Cesc's stunning one-touch pass to Schurrle,
along with some brilliant dribbles from Eden
Hazard, as well as an unstoppable display of
intelligent running from our German World Cup
winner. If we can keep this up, I think and hope
there may be quite a few games this season where
we can just sit back, watch and enjoy the show
with a little less stress than we have been used to.
Now wouldn't that be nice?
Last week I asked who was our top goalscorer at
the World Cup this year and of course the correct
answer was Andre Schurrle with three goals. Just
about everyone who entered got it right but there
can only be one randomly chosen winner and it is
Alan Li from Hong Kong. The prize will be posted
out soon.
This week to have a chance of winning a DVD
review of last season, signed by one of the players,
could you tell me which past or present Chelsea
player was born in Lagarto? Answers as ever to
me at pat.nevin@chelseafc.com
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.