By CFC Unofficial (Debs) (Chelsea 6 Maribor 0 Champions League) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsChelsea FC would travel to the always tough Britannia Stadium on Monday to take on Stoke City. Stoke have been known to be a scrappy team in the past, and even more so at home. Longtime Chelsea servant John Obi Mikel would get another start in defensive midfield.
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Chelsea would hit first, with barely a minute gone in the match. John Terry gave Stoke City a taste of their own medicine, and scored from a set piece. The Chelsea legend rose well in the midst of a sea of bodies in the penalty area, and sent a powerful header past Asmir Begovic. By scoring the early goal, Chelsea eliminated one of Stoke’s biggest advantages, the home crowd. They also seemed to catch the potters off guard, and it would be awhile before they reclaimed their wits.
Steven N’Zonzi almost bagged himself a goal in the 21st minute, after his drive from outside the box took a slight deflection, and nearly beat Thibaut Courtois. The young Belgian showed his immense talent by adjusting to the shot, and putting it out for a corner.
Stoke City avoided danger in the 31st minute, when Diego Costa had a clear-cut chance, but put his shot just wide of the far post. There were cries of offside, but replay showed the forward made a good run, and indeed was onside.
While Chelsea would take a 1-0 lead with them into halftime, they weren’t completely dominant. A couple of chances were missed, plus Stoke also had pockets of inspired play. The blues would surely be favorites to go on and win, but from a Stoke perspective, this could be exactly the type of game they wanted.
During the opening stages of the second half, Stoke City continued to show bursts of energy, but had nothing to show for it. The Chelsea defense were just a bit loose, and any slip up could mean an equalizing goal for the home team.
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The introduction of Charlie Adam with a little more than 20 minutes to play injected some life into the Stoke midfield. Adam looked lively, and gave his side a bit more in attack that they seemed to lack. With 13 minutes to go, Chelsea finally got the games second goal, and virtually ended any chance of a comeback. Eden Hazard found Cesc Fabregas’ darting run into the box. Fabregas didn’t get off the most powerful shot, but it was enough to beat Begovic, and creep into the back of the net.
A win is a win. Chelsea didn’t play the most eye pleasing football today, but grabbed an early goal, and weathered any storm Stoke City brought on. The Blues can now look forward to their local derby match against West Ham on Boxing Day.
MOTM: Nemanja Matic- Matic once again proved his worth by having a great all around performance in defensive midfield. He played simple effective passes, joined the attack when necessary, and made some crucial interceptions in defense.