Chelsea's Premier League Season Preview 2013-14

The start of the new season is a fantastic time for a football fan. And if your a Premier League fan, then even the transfer window enthralls you. And if you are indeed a fan of Chelsea Football Club, then the 1st week of June was enough to set your heart on fire.

The Special One is back, and has rechristened himself as The Happy One. And essentially, he will have to keep everyone happy, right from the man who took him back - Roman Abramovich, to the fans who will blow the roof of Stamford Bridge come Sunday evening. Something, that was rather absent last season, and the season before.

Adored by the fans, Mourinho's return is welcome,
after an 8-month spell under Rafa Benitez

Being a Chelsea fan was not easy, ever since Roberto Di Matteo got the sack in November last year. And the Interim One, hardly endeared himself to the Stamford Bridge faithful, as the team stumbled out to Corinthians in the FIFA Club World Cup a few weeks later. Yes, there was the run of impressive away wins at the turn of the year, but there were inexplicable defeats to QPR, Newcastle and Swansea in the League Cup semi-finals, that cast a doubt over Benitez's tactical acumen. And had it not been for Gary Cahill's lunging late tackle against Benfica, combined with Branislav Ivanovic's now epic header, the season would've been an absolute and total disaster.

With Jose's return the British media went berserk with rumours involving his Madrid players who might look to join him, or the current Chelsea players, who apparently 'don't fit the Mourinho mold.' That all disappeared after a waft of phone calls to South America, where most of these 'misfits' were on International duty in the Confederations Cup. While there were also phone calls made to Belgium, promoting 2 of the most promising Chelsea loanees to the first team squad for the upcoming season. In addition to  compatriot Eden Hazard, their chemistry upfront can be breathtaking if it all goes well for the Belgian trio.

The burgeoning Belgian contingent at Chelsea will make for some fantastic viewing
 if they can all hit form at the same time.

The return of fan-favourite Michael Essein, and the signing of Marco Van Ginkel from Vitesse Arnhem will bolster a troubled area for Chelsea, that even saw David Luiz cover last year, while Jon Obi Mikel was busy winning the African Cup of Nations for Nigeria.

And if there already wasn't enough competition for attacking roles, Andre Schurrle joined Chelsea from Bayer Leverkusen, a move that will certainly ensure Eden Hazard keeps up his lofty standards or risk being left on the bench. The one-year contract extensions to Ashley Cole and Frank Lampard, and a one-year deal for Mark Schwarzer has ensured that our youthful squad full of promise and poise, will have experienced campaigners in the dressing room. 

The defensive line up needs working on, and that is no secret. David Luiz may have proved his worth last season, but he will have to do it again this year. While Branislav Ivanovic, Gary Cahill and John Terry go head to head to partner the Brazilian in the centre of defence. And we will have to wait and see if Cesar Azplicueta keeps his place at right back, while Tomas Kalas might have to settle for a run out in the Cup competitions in his first year with the first team.

What will concern the fans though, is the strike force. Yes, Romelu Lukaku can the lead the line. But at 20, in all four competitions, it is a bit too much to ask of the young Belgian. Demba Ba and Fernando Torres are both in a similar boat. Not sure if its better for them to stay or go just yet. Agreed, Jose can work with both of them, but he will require only one, in the formation he prefers. And surely Romelu Lukaku is ahead of both of them in the pecking order, especially after pre-season form. So the chase for a world class goal machine like Wayne Rooney, makes complete sense.

But whatever said and done, it is after all the man in the dugout, that will make most of the headlines. Jose Mourinho is the man, who can make all the difference to Chelsea's season. If he gets off to a good start, which he normally does, rarely does he let it slip away. And as soon as he finds his best XI, expect Chelsea to see out a lot more games than they did last season.

Winning the Premier League will be Jose's focus,
but don't rule out a cup run or two to get things  going.

The Premier League title is the main objective. Yes, progress in Europe is a must, but winning the Champions League is still a couple of years away for this Chelsea team, who failed to make it out of the group stage last year. The focus will be on stamping their authority on England first, ahead of their closest rivals, both of whom appear to come from the Manchester.

All the talk will come to nothing, if Chelsea don't deliver on the pitch. The pre-season result against Real Madrid was the most telling, and must not be ignored. But it comes down to beating the Hull City 'Tigers' on the weekends, and that will make or break the season for Chelsea. Being the best in Europe can wait for the moment, because Jose needs to be the best in England first.

Chelsea find their feet, as Benitez Boo-boys fall silent

As always, the International break gives clubs the chance to review their position and reassess their goals for the final end-of-season push. With almost all our players being called up on national duty, they will certainly not be getting any rest. However, it gives Rafa Benitez the chance to analyze and prioritize for the run-in. After Tottenham's much awaited capitulation in recent days, we sit in 3rd place, but we must remember, we still have trips to Anfield and champions-in-waiting Manchester United before we can be rest assured of Champions League football next season.

A key learning since the defeat at Eastlands is that our side needs Jon Obi Mikel. Much maligned for his propensity to pass backwards than find a teammate ahead of him, we forget that there are enough players already in this side now, who are more than willing to do that. The calm he brought to the midfield in the second half at Old Trafford was priceless. Frank Lampard and Ramires for all their effort cannot do what the Nigerian does. Their pairing is fine when the opposition does not play with quality in the No.10 role between the lines. Put the likes of Daivd Silva, Wayne Rooney, Luis Suarez or even Abel Taraabt or Moussa Sissoko in that role, and Lamps and Rami will be brutally exposed. So in the game against West Ham, when Rafa chose not to start Mikel, he got his tactics spot on, as Jack Collison is not in the same league of No.10's who can trouble Chelsea.

Another massive boost is the form of Eden Hazard. He is better than what he was at the start of the season, and its no coincidence that Chelsea's winter slump and Hazard's dip in form came around about the same time. His ability to tease and ghost past established Premier League right backs and combine with Ashley Cole is mesmerizing at times. Even though much praise for him will come when he does the same to the likes of Philip Lahm and Dani Alves in the future Champions League games, for now let's just celebrate and revel in what this young Belgian is capable of doing.

Benitez, for all his short-comings and justified public vilification by Chelsea fans, has got it spot on since the 1st half of the FA Cup quarterfinal against Manchester United. He corrected his mistakes there and put out the our best eleven against Steaua. Although David Luiz put in a shocking 1st half last Thursday, he made up for it with an assured 2nd half display. And the more Luiz plays with John Terry, the better and more disciplined he will get.

What was a little bit of a worry was Demba Ba's glaring miss when he was through on goal against West Ham. A brief look at his record so far will point out that he's been a flop since that opening game against Southampton, and 2 goals in 13 appearance since then certainly doesn't make good reading. But what statistics will not tell you is the runs he makes and space he creates, or the fight he showed to assist Torres' late equalizer at Griffin Park that saved us from crashing out of the FA Cup. And what statistics will not tell you is that one of those two Premier League goals came in a close and hard fought 1-0 win over a strong West Brom side. But yes, we'd like him a clock up a few more goals before the season is over.

Much needed depth and bench strength will be brutally tested as the congested fixture list just doesn't let up for Chelsea. With Victor Moses, Marko Marin, Yossi Benayoun and Fernando Torres too on bench, we may not have the most in-form bunch of players to fall back on, but at least we aren't as thin as most of our competitors are in this department. Most of our regulars have already clocked up 50 appearances this season, and they are bound to tire as the games reach the hour mark, what Rafa needs to get right is not only the tactics of his substitutions right, but also the timing of his substitution.

The ridiculous fixture schedule sees us travel to St.Mary's next in the league, and mind you the Saints have improved vastly since Nigel Adkins' sacking, as Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool side found out over the weekend. Two days later we host Manchester United in a replay of the FA Cup quarterfinal, that we really should have won based on the chances we created in the 2nd half at Old Trafford. And before we look further ahead, lets just win these two matches first and then think about the comforts of home games against Rubin Kazan and Sunderland in 1st week of April.

Chelsea stutter against Steaua, as a season defining week begins

As the season goes by, it's not surprising to see how we've run out of adjectives to describe how woeful the Chelsea have been performing. Following a decent performance 3-4 days earlier comes an atrocious one, that makes you pull your hair out in frustration. Thursday night in Bucharest was no different. The responsible performance by Benitez's men against West Brom at the Bridge may not have been champagne stuff, but to follow that up with an insipid performance as soulless as the one the Blues came up with in the Romanian capital was astonishing. Honestly, we're lucky the tie is still alive in the competition.

Raul Ruscescu slots home the penalty he won to give Steaua a 1-0 lead in the 1st leg.
It was the home side's only meaningful shot on target over the 90 minutes as well. 

The unpredictability of the starting line up is refreshing, but the tactics are a cause for concern. By playing both Branislav Ivanovic and Ryan Bertrand as your fullbacks, Chelsea resigned to the fact that they are not going to go forward on the wings. Neither are accomplished going forward and doubling up with the wingers on a regular basis. Cesar Azplicueta and Ashley Cole give so much more in this regard, that it is a necessity that either one of them starts as fullbacks. So often, Eden Hazard got the ball and had two Steaua players to cope with, that he made the wrong decision everytime he got the ball. Neither did Oscar come to help him out, nor did Ryan Bertrand. Just watch how much Ashley Cole and Eden team up, if they both start against Man United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Being forced to defend for most of the 1st half was down the fact that our midfield barely got into the game until the penalty. Steaua may not have had chance after chance, but we were not exactly stamping our authority in the defensive third either. David Luiz committed himself far too often and found himself in no mans land, which really makes me wonder why he is rated all that highly. Mind you, he's been at rarely failed to commit his habitual blunder in every game he plays in the centre of defence.

Chasing down the ball when not in possession is something we clearly suck at. The way Steaua's left side combined in the build up summarizes the problem. Oscar, Lampard, Mikel got close, but not one was able to dispossess the opponent. And finally with all the attention dragged onto the right side, a simple ball in behind Ryan Bertrand led to the penalty. In the Premier League, you will never see those given as penalties, and the same goes for Nani's red card. The offences are more sternly dealt with in Europe, its something we have to live with.

To be fair, Chelsea did wake up after conceding  But that was more because the home side were happy to sit back and watch us in possession. With little to no movement ahead of Mikel and Lampard, it was not surprising that we lost the ball so regularly. Oscar and Benayoun did manage to penetrate the penalty box in the 40th minute, but the Israeli's shot on goal was a lacking intent as his place in the starting line up in the first place.

The reaction expected in the second half did not materialize either. The Bucharest president labelled us a slow side, and when the ever dependable Frank Lampard had the ball taken off his toes just as he was about to let fly from the edge of the box, you couldn't really disagree with what was being said. Frank did have a below par outing, he wasn't able to find the trio ahead, and had more misplaced passes than I could count on  my fingers.

Yossi Benayoun had Chelsea's best chance of the match 5 minutes from half time,
but his shot on goal was characteristic of his time at Chelsea - fruitless.

When Rafa Benitez puts Yossi Benayoun and Ryan Bertrand in the eleven, you have to fear the worst. The same goes for the Lampard-Mikel defensive pivot, while Gary Cahill has shown in the last few matches why he is the most dependable centre-back at the moment on the Blues' roster. From the outset, the tactics were a bit confusing.

Starting with John Terry obviously means we are not going to be more than 20 yards from our own penalty box, if that's the case, then why have the midfield pressing. Rather have a counter attacking gameplan, and 32-year old Yossi Benayoun is the anti-thesis of everything Chelsea want to be. Marko Marin, Eden Hazard n Oscar does make a lot more sense doesn't it? I won't blame Benitez for playing Fernando Torres up front, honestly, its not like he had a choice.

Picking ourselves up for the FA Cup game against United and the return leg will be crucial,
or else we could resign ourselves to a trophyless season in the year we called ourselves Champions of Europe.

Petr Cech's assessment after the game was telling. The 'worst possible result' he said. But he also said we could turn it around. Over the weekend, we might get battered by the wounded Premier League leaders if we turn in another performance like this. Expect changes galore for that one. Be sure all of Ramires, Victor Moses, Ashley Cole, Gary Cahill and Demba Ba to start. Because if either of them don't, I'd fear for Rafa Benitez's safety.

Television pundits and journalists are bound to have a swipe now, since Chelsea is the club everyone loves to hate across England. But that's the same thing they were doing last March. We need a reaction soon, or premature end to the season looms. The season can still be salvaged mind you, if we turn in a big performance in Manchester at the weekend.

Chelsea scrape past Middlesborough, as Benitez goes bananas

With not much guile, not much spunk, but a whole lot of force and a few instances of bright interplay in the final third, a much changed Chelsea did just about enough to squeeze past Middlesborough and set up a date with runaway Premier League table toppers Manchester United in the 6th round of the FA Cup.

Rafa Benitez's post match outburst grabbed the headlines,
and he can expect a racous atmosphere at Stamford Bridge on Saturday

Rafa Benitez would have had to a barrage of questions to answer regarding the starting XI had Chelsea come away from the Riverside with anything less than a win. Instead he used the post match press conference to hit back at the fans, who continue to sing against him and the Chelsea board somewhat, for naming him only an interim manager. He did make one thing clear though, he wont be here post the summer.

Unlike Sunday's timid showing at Eastlands, Chelsea did get off the blocks better. Victor Moses was our most potent attacker as Oscar and Yossi Benayoun started in the attacking third with the misfiring Spaniard upfront. Ramires seemed to have gotten over his dreadful outing against Manchester City, as young Dutchman Nathan Ake partnered him in the pivot rather impressively. Ryan Bertrand, Branislav Ivanovic, John Terry and Paulo Ferreira made up a back four, that we hope will surely never see at Chelsea again.

After a positive opening 10-15 minutes, the Boro midfield slowly began coming into the game, Chelsea found it difficult to find their forwards, and kept pinging the ball around their backline in search of openings.
This period I found extremely frustrating as even when young Ake came back to pick up the ball, both John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic preferred to play it square either to Ryan Bertrand and Paulo Ferriera, who could not do much with it either. Midway through the 1st half this happened at least three times, and everytime Chelsea lost the ball while trying to play out of defence it led to a Boro shot towards goal. With 10 minutes to go to halftime, Boro who had kept their shape well and defended stoutly, looked to be growing in confidence.

Diagonal balls to Victor Moses who had a nervy Kevin Friend for company was clearly the most attractive outlet. Maybe if Ferreira got forward more or Oscar teamed up with him on the right flank, Chelsea would've done better in the first half. Moses to his credit did find the right cross and won his fare share of corners on that flank, but again the delivery from set pieces, just like at the weekend barely got past the 1st line of defence or was freakishly overhit.

To Boro's credit, they did not let the premier league side have a single clear cut chance in the first half. And whenever they sent the ball upfield, they manages to give their defenders a breather. Once too often John Terry, assuming the role of the tackler was caught too high up the pitch leaving massive gaps in defence. Against better forwards, he will be made to pay, mind you the same happened n the Newcastle game when Moussa Sissoko made it 2-2 on the counter. Better sides will hurt us.

The normally calming presence of Petr Cech did have a poor 1st half too. A few kicks went astray, while the fumble on Boro's only shot on target could so easily have fallen to someone in a red shirt.

In the second half, the visitors did step it up a bit. The passing was faster, the closing down was more purposeful, and the goal came with some good play from Oscar first n then Benayoun who teed up Ramires' shot, although a slight deflection off Torres may have taken it into the Boro net.

Chelsea's forwards needed to run in behind the Middleshorough defence more, when Oscar did that and put it a fine cross, Benayoun did well to find Ramires on the edge of the box. The Brazilians shooting has been woeful in recent weeks, but this time he found the back of the net, courtesy a little deflection off Torres. It wasn't the ideal goal, but it just about did justice to the application we began showing in the second half.

Just as Boro began throwing men forward, Rafa, for once made a timely substitution. Eden Hazard came on for Yossi Benayoun, who offered nothing more than an assist to the opening goal. With Hazard's pace, Moses' direct running and Oscar's growing influence Chelsea began looking dangerous on the counter.
But the real star of the night was Nathan Ake. He repelled attacks, held the ball, tackled effectively, covered ground and passed positively on his full Chelsea debut. It surely wont be his last appearance for Chelsea this season.

18-year old Nathan Ake impressed in a defensive midfield role
 on his full Chelsea debut against Middlesborough on Wednesday night 

The second goal was a thing of beauty. It was how we imagined we would play all season, after the start we had under Robbie Di Matteo. Eden Hazard picked up the ball on the left, drove at the defenders, squared it to Oscar, who's first time return pass met Hazard's run in behind. The Belgian then, very unselfishly squared it early to Victor Moses to tap into the empty net. It made the previous 72 minutes worth watching.

It would be Moses' and Oscar's last meaningful contributions, as David Luiz and Marko Marin came on. Ramires was moved out to the right, with Marin on the left and Hazard more central. And for the second game in a row, a change in the pivot, would unsettle Chelsea and give the opposition the impetus in the middle of the park.

Middlesborough, with nothing to lose kept going forward. Paulo Ferreira rarely able to read the game these days was rather easy to get past. David Luiz's careless play in front of his defenders too, did not make things easy. Maybe the defensive pivot is a part of the line up that Rafa should not change too much during a game. Certainly Ramires on the right is not going to work.

It was a comfortable scoreline in the end, with another Petr Cech cleansheet intact. Far from the pretty and exciting that Roman Abramovich desires, it was a win of graft. Chelsea avoided a dreadful replay, but with the rampant United in the 6th round, a marked improvement is needed. Stuart Clarke's West Brom await us on Saturday in the league, but expect a massive reaction from the Bridge faithful after Rafa's rant in the post match presser.

You can blame Benitez, but that wont help Chelsea

Outplayed, outwitted and outclassed. Not many teams have done that to Chelsea over the years, but my word its becoming all to regular in the year we call ourselves the Champions of Europe. At the moment, its unlikely that Chelsea are the best team in London, let alone England.

The 2-0 defeat to Manchester City hurts. They honestly have not been good this season. And the fact that they were clearly superior from the 1st minute when Yaya Toure got his shot on target, will bite us a bit more. They excelled at the one department that Chelsea's forwards have struggled with in the last few weeks - quick passing in the final third and movement off the ball. Mind you, the finishing of their strikers has been as woeful, except for Edin Dzeko.

The home side did start the game better, and we were lucky to be level after a barrage of attempts on goal early on. Petr Cech pulled off a brilliant save when Nastasic looked certain to score, while Gary Cahill showed why he was so highly rated at Bolton. His role at the weekend, when John Terry partnered him was to play sweeper as Terry tackled the striker, on Sunday he showed his tackling ability as David Luiz mopped up behind him. Cahill blocked 4 shots on target, needless to say that the only time the ball got past him, it got past Cech's outstretched hands too and nestled into the back of the net.

Criticism for Juan Mata over his 18 odd months at Chelsea has been rare. But on Sunday, he did have one of those games again, the second time in a week. There were fouls that did not go his way, but far too often he came back to collect the ball and did not find the intended targets up front. Eden Hazard on the other hand, was having a better game than most of his colleagues, and alongwith Frank Lampard's saved penalty, his speculative, if not feeble right footed attempt on goal, were the only two shots on target Chelsea could muster.

Talismanic playmaker Juan Mata's dip in form
could hurt Chelsea during a pivotal part of their season

Ashley Cole seemed a bit under pressure from Pablo Zabaleta and James Milner early on, but once he got his bearings right, he was able to team up with Eden Hazard and Juan Mata on the left flank. And as the half ended that looked like Chelsea's best bet of getting a goal. Meanwhile, the set piece delivery on a day of so few chances, was appalling. Not once, not twice, but about 5 times in the half alone, Chelsea's corner's and freekicks barely got passed the first line of defence.

In the second half, we came out better, looked better in midfield, but with Demba Ba unable to offer much upfront in terms of runs in behind coupled with some careless passing, we barely managed a decent effort on goal. When Ivanovic floated the ball to Ba, controversy aside, not a soul expected Frank to miss. But credit to Joe Hart, that save, that moment rallied the Citizens.

Ramires who was having a howler on the right flank, made a lung bursting run into the box after winning the ball near the half way line, but could not put away Ivanovic's return pass. City's goal came minutes after that. David Silva doing well to find Toure free on the edge of the box, and the Ivorian side-footed past Mikel and opened himself up to finish in the far corner.

Frank Lampard did not have one of his most accomplished performances, and after the missed penalty, it was obvious Benitez would bring him and Ramires off. Instead Eden Hazard came off for Oscar on the left and Lampard came off for Victor Moses. But with not much impact, Benitez threw on Fernando Torres for Jon Obi Mikel, with David Luiz pushing up into defensive midfield, Ivanovic into the centre and Ramires at right back.

As we attempted to drive forward, City began to counter attack and with no one to break up play effectively, all Carlos Tevez needed was a yard, and he rifled a stunning strike past Petr Cech to put the game to bed.

Mikel off for Torres: The intention was right,
but the gamble did not pay off for Rafa Benitez on Sunday at Eastlands

What will be most disheartening is the fact that this Manchester City team was not in great form, had even lost their last PL game to Southampton and drew to Liverpool and QPR in the run up to this game.  Torres or Ba, or Torres and Ba, it did not matter anymore. The fact is we are not good enough to be in the top 2.
We've might even be down to 4th by Monday night if Spurs beat West Ham, and that is poor considering how well we started the year under Robbie.

With Middlesborough in the FA Cup in midweek to come, we can't afford to go out of the competition or even settle for a replay, so a win is a must. It was around this time of the year, that Andre Villas Boas was sacked and we went on to win two trophies last year, so miracles can happen. But they wont happen every year. Rafa needs to get it right on Wednesday night, and blaming him if he doesn't wont get us anywhere. It about time the players stand up too.

Hazard saves Chelsea the blues against a spirited Sparta

Prague was always going to be a tougher test than Brentford, but Chelsea made it a nervy 92 minutes for themselves. Sparta were clearly over the winter-break hangover that allowed Chelsea to bring in a 1-0 lead into this 2nd leg. Having rested the likes of Frank Lampard and Branislav Ivanovic, the English side were expected to see out the night rather comfortably, given the way the 1st leg panned out.

Benitez will have Eden Hazard's sweet left-footed strike to thank
 for saving his side 30 minutes of extra-time and maybe even penalties against Sparta Prague

David Lafata, who blew a few big chances last Thursday righted his wrongs, when he smashed Sparta into the lead from 6 yards out after some good work by Vaclav Kadlec. Gary Cahill should not have allowed the ball to get past him in the 1st place, but the fact that both Lafata and Marek Matejovsky were unmarked in the box, is a matter of concern. Mind you it was the same kind of diagonal run across the defence by Juventus forward Fabio Quagliarella back in September that cost Chelsea the points back then, Kadlec did very much the same, but the good thing is he did not get a chance to do it again.

Sparta looked more likely to score after that as Chelsea's possession did not count for much in the 1st half. Victor Moses looks to be more influential when he has the pacey Cesar Azplicueta behind, and likewise the Spaniard looks better in defence when he has the Nigerian ahead of him. Moses though, much like against Brentford, needs to find an end product. His ability to muscle past defenders is commendable (he dribbled past 4 players last night according to WhoScored); but he needs to pick out a Blue shirt more often, if he wants to clock up some assists before the end of the season.

Oscar for all his guile and brilliance, must be disciplined if he wants to keep his place ahead of an increasingly in-form Eden Hazard. Ryan Bertrand on the left, was not afforded the luxury Azplicueta had on the right side. Often left defending against more than one Prague player, due to Oscar's tendency to drift infield. Mind you, his driving run through midfield to setup Ramires' shot that hit the post was one of the reasons we paid so much for a 20-year old. To his credit the Brazilian did trot back to help out a few times, but Bertrand was being left a bit exposed, and let's be honest, right now its difficult to see him as first choice left-back when Ashley Cole leaves.

Juan Mata set himself up for a shot on goal in the 1st half with that magnificent touch that we have become accustomed to now. But other than that, he had a rather quiet game by his standards. And when Jon Obi Mikel and Ramires have a better outing than Juan, Chelsea do struggle to find the back of the net. But its just one game, so no problem there, Juan's earned the right to have it.

And talking of the defensive midfield pivot, Mikel and Ramires, as a combination had an average game. The Nigerian sat back, and allowed Ramires to make those runs from deep. And the fact that he was the most fouled player on the night, according to WhoScored, shows how much he will be wasted if given the job only to protect his centre-backs. His shooting has been woeful in recent weeks though, far from the Lampard-esque efficiency that we missed last night. Rafa's got a headache come Sunday now, as both Frank and Ramires are bound to play better with Mikel behind them, even though Mikel did not have one of his better outings.

It was good to see Petr Cech abandon the playing-it-out-through-the-centre-backs tactic, that failed miserably at the weekend. John Terry and Gary Cahill also looked to have found some kind of understanding, but the fact that Sparta were allowed to take so shoot so often is a bother. As the captain went for the ball, Cahill covered up well, the only blot being that run-in behind that to the goal in the 1st half. Lafata and Matejovsky did have chances on the counter late on, and to think if their shots were on target, Chelsea could well and truly be out of the Europa League. Come Sunday afternoon, the likes of Yaya Toure, David Silva and Sergio Aguero won't be as forgiving.

Around the 70-minute mark, you got the feeling that it was going to be one of those nights, that have been coming all too often at Stamford Bridge. Passes weren't finding their intended targets, while crosses were being overhit or not even making it past the first line of defence. Sometimes the post, sometimes even Fernando Torres standing in the way of long range efforts. Torres to his credit, made an effort to play and get his shots away, none of which were on target by the way. Thank God Demba Ba will be available on Sunday.

The focus shifts back to the Premier League, as a Round of 16 tie with Steau Bucharest awaits us in the 1st week of March. What was meant to be a professional performance against a clearly weaker Czech outfit, needed a dramatic last minute tie-clinching goal, that we very well know, wont come every week. Finishing off chances will be key, if we do manage to conjure up a few against Manchester City, who've had week to prepare for Sunday's game at the Etihad.

Brentford win should not cover up Chelsea's problems

The replay should not have been needed to decide the tie in the first place, but we have the right foot of our maligned no.9 to thank for that saving grace. The win at home against League One's Brentford should

have been a formality. But for 55 minutes it was not. It required a precisely placed shot into the bottom corner from our bearded genius, to make Brentford come out and leave the gaps open to exploit. The gloss

was there, courtesy some late goals, but the problems we've been having are far from being solved. It was so obvious in the 1st half, that we'd be foolish to ignore it. Even Brentford, made us nervous.

Adam Forshaw's speculative efforts from 25 yards were the closest the Bees came to Petr Cech's goal. But for some reason the Chelsea goalkeeper insisted to playing the ball out to his central defenders. Chelsea

have never done that in recent years, and both John Terry and Gary Cahill looked far from comfortable playing the ball out of defence. Brentford's forward line did not press them and chose to mark everyone else, hence leaving them no options but to pass it around the back till either one of Lampard or Luiz came back to pick up the ball.

And as soon as Luiz tried an effective long pass into Demba Ba, the Senegalese was hunted down, and Oscar, Victor Moses and Juan Mata were'nt able to get to the lose ball fast enough. But when Petr Cech decided to change it and punted a goal kick right into the heart of the Brentford defence, the result was markedly different. Demba Ba finally won something in the air, and as the lose ball bobbled to Mata, the Spaniard picked his spot to drill Chelsea into the lead. It was direct, but it was different from what Chelsea were trying all game and it worked.

The return of Victor Moses was refreshing. He hugged the touchline on the right side early on, often dragged two defenders towards him, and when he managed to evade both of them and supply a ball for the on-rushing Lampard to smash home, the 34-year old unbelievably scuffed his shot. But Moses' effectiveness waned as the match progressed. He afforded a neat touch for Juan Mata to setup Oscar, who hit the post. But the Nigerian did nothing more of note and was substituted for Eden Hazard with 25 minutes remaining.

Early in the second half Ashley Cole had possession on the edge of the Brentford box, but with two Brentford players around him, no one made an overlapping run behind. It took a good 5-7 seconds or so for Frank Lampard to see the pass and make the run, when ideally it should've been Oscar or Juan Mata popping up in those positions.

The lack of off the ball runs and movement when teams sit back and defend has been a problem for Chelsea. Whoever the personnel upfront, almost all of Chelsea's attackers prefer the ball at their feet rather than

making runs or dragging defenders out of position. When the other team is chasing the game, and there is space in behind and Chelsea have found it easy to move the ball around. But if we have to make a 4-2-3-1

work well, we will need someone to gamble on making those forward runs, across the defence or in the channels. Chelsea do look clueless in possession, a lot more than they should be.

Uwe Rosler was always going to stuff Brentford's midfield and stifle Chelsea's play. Chelsea lined up with David Luiz and Frank Lampard in the pivot, and due to the lack of a pure no.10 to mark, both Luiz and

Lampard had a rather free afternoon. Whenever the opposition have had a good playmaker or a midfield runner, Chelsea's pivot has came up short. Be it Willian or Arturo Vidal a few months back, or more recently Moussa Sissoko, or even Adel Taarabt, all had a field day against Chelsea's defensive midfield pairing. While David Luiz continues to slip in a moment of stupidity once in a while, this time young Jake Reeves was the victim.

Rafa Benitez will have seen the problems that even Brentford exposed, 

he will have to find a way to stop Manchester City  at the weekend

All said and done, it was a second clean sheet in a row, even though Cech was beaten once by Marcello Trotta. Its 3 wins in a row, a marked improvement since the defeat to Newcastle, against understandably weaker opposition. But a few things have been going Chelsea's way. Wigan were denied a penalty when the ball hit Ashley Cole's hand last weekend when the score was still 2-1, while Oscar scored seconds after coming on, in a game that made for an appalling advert of the Europa League on Thursday night. And Brentford were pulled back for a foul, when advantage should have been played and the goal they went on to score should have stood.

Next up is the return leg against Sparta Prague, who should be professionally dealt with, before Sunday's showdown agianst the Premier League champions at the Etihad. If we are to hold onto 3rd place, nothing less than a win will do.