Chelsea: The current favorites to win the English league which is considered as the most competitive
league in the world. But a big wonder is the teams from the most competitive league were continuously failing to make their mark in the Elite competitions like the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. Even the Five time champions Liverpool have a poor history as they are struggling to qualify to the competition throughout the past years.
Every year four teams are qualifying from England to play the biggest competition. Last time only Chelsea could able to play the semi-finals where they were knocked out by the impressive Atletico
Madrid. Other teams Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United all were not able to qualify for the quarters itself. The curse is continuing even with national team as England was scratched off from the group stages of the World Cup.
But as a change of scenario an English team is entering the famous tournament as one of the favorites to climb the biggest price. Can they do the process and reverse the history?
Let’s see reasons why the Londoners could dominate the competition this time around.
Jose Mourinho
The Portuguese tactician has a very good history with the Elite competition and he truly is a special one in winning things. The manager who won domestic championships in three different leagues is one of the best Gaffers around and can change a match at any point with his furious decisions. The quarter-final of CL 2013-14 against PSG is the best example for his tactical genius.
The Portuguese is enjoying his second stint with the Blues who have assembled a squad of his own kind which gives him the better confidence to clinch the biggest crown of Europe for the third time and the second for the club.
Squad investments
With a billionaire like Roman Abrahimovic as owner, you really don’t need to worry about the Money. And he invested around £700m from 2003 to build a squad which could win him everything. Clearly this is the better squad of his era.
The summer signings Cesc Fabregas and Diego Costa were proving their worth and are leading the scorers list with most assists and most goals respectively. The other signings by Mourinho this summer were looks good and are finding their feet in Blue shirts really quicker.
The youth investments have served them very well with Eden Hazard arguably the best among them along with proving talents such as Oscar, Kurt Zouma, Ceser Azpilicueta, and Thibaut Courtois all making the squad nothing short of a world class one.
Attacking and creativity
The midfield of Chelsea involving Eden Hazard, Oscar, Andre Schurrle and Cesc Fabregas making them one of the best creative midfield in Europe. The added clinical and physical touch of their front man Diego Costa make their attack ruthless and most of the times unstoppable.
The other two Brazilians in Ramires and Willian could never be neglected as they bring creativity along with reckless energy and tireless work rate. The threat from the fullbacks Branislav Ivanovic, Filipe Luis and Azpilicueta is making the danger too severe to the opposition.
Balance and stability
Though creativity produces goals, it is the balance and stability of a squad which could win them chances to create and operate well with counter attacks. The creative midfield must be backed in order to avoid conceding. What if you concede the same amount that you score?
Chelsea has solution for balance too in the name of Nemaja Matic. The Serbian was bought back from Benfica last January by Mourinho and he immediately offered what the manager asked for. The veteran midfielder gave the long cried solidity at the center as well as a strong base for the creative force. The ability of Matic in defense made the job easier for the defensive pair of captain John Terry and Gary Cahill.
Defensive solidity
The blues have conceded the fewer number of goals in the premier league last season which gives the required evidence for the solidity of their defense. The return of Kurt Zouma has made the defensive unit better.
Though the fullbacks are more intended to lap over the opponents, it doesn’t harm their defense a bit.
Key players
Eden Hazard: The young man is the best player so far this season and with his mind blowing skills and dribbles, he can take on any defense and also can pop at goal if provided a little chance.
Cesc Fabregas: The Spaniard who is a specialist in creating chances has showed his quality instantly and his experience is going to play a major role for Blues.
Diego Costa: The Brazilian born Spaniard is the hot topic after his blistering start in England with 7 goals from 4 games by the time of writing this article, despite the fact that he is not fully fit. Can’t say what is going to happen if he continues his form throughout the season.
Nemanja Matic: The rock solid defensive midfielder can give the opponents’ creators more trouble and also capable of doing some nasty works.
And the bench strength of Chelsea is as much as capable of the main team which makes them the clear favorites to the premier league glory and the best English team to win the biggest price in Europe.
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