Chelsea has given its supporters plenty of reasons to be disappointed this year, but a 3-1 victory over
Steaua Bucuresti
to avoid elimination in the Europa League proved that the team still
has the ability to pull off impressive results in order to finish this
season strong.
After losing the first leg of the matchup 1-0, the
Blues returned to Stamford Bridge with ground to make up. Juan Mata
evened the score on aggregate in the 33rd minute with a scrappy goal,
but
Steaua’s Vlad
Chiriches knocked in a loose ball following a corner kick to regain the advantage.
After
the visitors’ goal, Chelsea needed to score twice to advance. In this
dire situation, it was no surprise that John Terry delivered the spark
with a fantastic header off Mata’s cross in the 58th minute.
The Blues continued to press forward and show off their superior skill, and finally
Fernando Torres came through with an excellent setup and strike from the center of the box to put his team through to the quarterfinals.
Throughout the match, Mata, Eden Hazard and Oscar dazzled with their skill and creativity.
Steaua was clearly outclassed and faced a noticeable talent deficit.
Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
But Chelsea owns the more talented squad in nearly
every match it plays. Lack of quality players has not been the main
cause of the team’s disappointing Champions League campaign or its
inability to compete for a league title.
The Blues have failed to meet expectations this season because of their inconsistency.
Matches in which the team is disinterested or plays down to the level of its competition have been too common this season.
In the first leg against
Steaua,
Chelsea had a 54-46 advantage in possession and nine shots compared to
10 for the Romanians. In the second leg, the Blues had possession for 59
percent of the match and
outshot Steaua 18-8.
The
inconsistency has been a serious problem in the Premiership as well.
There are no clearer signs of the team’s erratic form than its results
against last-place
Queens Park Rangers this season: a 0-0 draw and a 1-0 defeat.
With an FA Cup tie with
Manchester United,
the remainder of the Europa League and the end of the Premiership still
to come, Blues fans will be worried about their side’s ability to
produce a dud in any match.
Scott Heavey/Getty Images
But the victory on Thursday was a sign of hope. It is
unsurprising that Chelsea proved its superior skill, but conceding at
the very end of the first half was a deflating event.
When the
team came back onto the pitch for the second half, it had 45 minutes to
produce two goals against a side that had no interest in going forward.
This was a daunting task and offered Chelsea the opportunity to succumb
to frustration.
Which player is most important to the Blues' success for the remainder of the season?
Instead, the team showed resiliency and fought back.
Terry’s leadership was key, and the prodigious talent of Hazard and Mata
was crucial.
The comeback displayed the mixture of experience
and skill that makes this Chelsea team dangerous but has also been
absent in too many fixtures.
Going forward, the Blues must
continue to trust their veterans and put Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley
Cole in the lineup for important games. This will be important in
ensuring the team remains consistent.
Impressive finishes in the
Europa League and the FA Cup, in addition to a Top-Four finish in the
EPL, would cap off a fine campaign for Chelsea. It may not meet the
lofty preseason expectations, but it would leave plenty of positive
outcomes to build on going forward.
All of this is well within reach if the club can continue playing up to its potential.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Cech; Azpilicueta, Terry (c),
David Luiz, Cole;
Ramires,
Mikel; Oscar, Mata (Moses 90), Hazard (Benayoun 90+3); Torres.
Unused subs Turnbull, Ferreira, Cahill, Bertrand, Lampard.
Scorers Mata 33, Terry 58, Torres 71.
Booked Mikel 69, Cole 80.
Steaua (4-2-3-1): Tatarusanu; Rapa (Adi Sobrinho 83), Szukala,
Chiriches, Latovlevici; Pintilii, Bourceanu (c); Popa, Chipciu, Tanase
(Tatu 78); Rusescu.
Unused subs Stanca (GK), Gardos, Filip, Prepelita, Iancu.
Scorer Chiriches 45.
Booked Bourceanu 49, Rapa 57.
Referee Stéphane Lannoy from France.
Crowd 28,817.
The
Champions League draw was made this lunchtime with Barça being paired
with French big money spenders Paris Saint Germain. The first leg will
be played at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday 2 April with the return at
Camp Nou on Wednesday 10 April. The tie will mean the return of Zlatan
Ibrahimovic, Thiago Motta and Maxwell Andrade to Camp Nou though the big
Swede has to serve the second of a two-match suspension and will miss
the first game in Paris.
The
clubs have only crossed paths twice before in European competition. In
the Champions League quarter-final stages back in 1995 PSG had a fine
team including George Weah and David Ginola and the Parisiens went
through 3-2 on aggregate. Barça gained revenge two years later in the
Cup Winners Cup Final two years later in Rotterdam when a Ronaldo
penalty was enough to beat the French side 1-0. The teams met more
recently in a preseason friendly last August with Rafinha and Messi
scoring for Barça before Ibrahimovic and Camara levelled the scores for
Les Rouge-et-Bleu. With a 2-2 final score the game was settled by
penalties with Pinto saving two as Barça won 4-1.
