Nemanja Matic was a key player in Chelsea’s 1-0 win at title rivals Manchester City last night
Things have not been plain sailing for Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho in his second stint at Stamford Bridge.
Earlier in the season the Blues were producing inconsistent results and questions were being asked if Mourinho was right to return to the club.
Proof
Last night’s big 1-0 victory at title rivals Manchester City yesterday proved that Mourinho is still the right man for the job at Stamford Bridge. When his team needs a big result, the Portuguese boss is adept at masterminding one.
Crucial
Last night’s game was a crucial one for the Blues in the race for the Premier League title. If Mourinho’s side would have suffered defeat they would have been six points behind Chelsea and five behind league leaders Arsenal.
It was a game that Chelsea could not afford to lose and they never looked like losing it, largely courtesy of the way Mourinho set up his team.
Tactical
Mourinho is famed as a tactician and the Portuguese boss won the tactical war against City boss Manuel Pellegrini in last night’s game. The Chelsea starting line-up looked slightly more defensive than usual, with regular number ten Oscar left out of the team.
Instead Mourinho decided to field Willian in the free role and the Brazilian did an admirable job going forward and also tracking back. The selection of two sitting midfielders in David Luiz and Nemanja Matic was also key to the victory.
Some believed that Mourinho would ‘park the bus’ in an attempt to gain a positive result at the Etihad. However, the Blues boss did not. Instead he used counter-attacking football to good effect. Not only did his side score against the Citizens, they also hit the woodwork on three occasions.
Underrated
I have to say that since Nemanja Matic returned to Chelsea he has really impressed me. When Mourinho decided to re-sign the Serbian midfielder for £20million and sell Juan Mata to Manchester United, it seemed like the Portuguese boss was taking a gamble.
However, as he has done at most of the clubs, Mourinho looks to have made the right move for the team and the way he wants his team to play. It was a simple scenario in Mourinho’s mind.
He had too many attacking midfielders and not enough quality defensive midfielders, so he decided to sell one of his attacking midfielders and Juan Mata just happened to be the player that did not fit into his way of playing.
Matic had left the Blues for Portuguese giants Benfica as a makeweight in the deal that saw maverick Brazilian David Luiz arrive at Chelsea in July 2011. Two and a half years later and Matic suddenly looks like the answer to Chelsea’s defensive midfield conundrum.
The Serbian hardly played for Chelsea in his first spell, but has impressed with his performances for Benfica and Mourinho has obviously been following his progress. The tall midfielder was outstanding alongside Luiz in last night’s win, as the Chelsea pair completely dominated City duo Martin Demichelis and Yaya Toure.
I saw very little of Matic during his days at Benfica, but he is already showing some encouraging glimpses of his talent in that defensive midfield area. The position has been a problem for Chelsea in recent years and Matic could very well be the solution.
Title race
When Jose Mourinho was installed as Chelsea boss for a second time this summer, the Blues were instantly installed as favourites for the Premier League title race; such is Mourinho’s managerial reputation. They now find themselves just two points away from league leaders Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.
Mourinho has tried to play down his team’s chances of winning the title, which is not like him at all really. However, with just 14 league games remaining Chelsea are still right in the hunt for the Mourinho’s third title with the Blues.
If Chelsea does claim the title at the end of the season Jose Mourinho will have played a big part in the Blues’ triumph. After the way that Chelsea played last night it would be very unwise to write-off the boys from the bridge, especially with the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ in their dugout.
Will Jose Mourinho inspire Chelsea to the Premier League title this season?
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