Chelsea FC Have Advantage After Showdown!

After the full time whistle blew at Stamford Bridge and Chelsea FC drew with Manchester City, I was content with the result.

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Without two of our biggest players Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas I couldn’t complain it has been a good week.

I think sometimes fans expect us to win 5-0 every week, with no dip in player performances and results.

Unfortunately football isn’t like that. If it was then we wouldn’t have lost to Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur and we would have won that game comfortably yesterday. Going in to the game I had my doubts, mainly due to the fact we’d just played a tense 120 minute semi final against Liverpool that was full of emotion and going in to a big match to title rivals it was always going to be tough.

In truth if you looked at the 90 minutes in full you would say that Manchester City had the better of the play and arguably should of took all 3 points. That’s what I found so amazing about how apparently to some we were “outclassed” which to me sounds ridiculous!

Going into the game there was a lot of trepidation and anxiety around the small matter of club legend Frank Lampard returning “home” as the man himself said pre and post match. I think in the way it obviously felt weird when in the ground but also the fact of how important the game was.

Loic Remy for me struggled at points to get in the game, especially in the second half. Of course when you don’t have the best striker in the Premier League you are going to see a clear dip but for Remy to score with his only chance is impressive and I wouldn’t be surprised if he keeps his place for next Saturday’s trip to Villa Park.

Kurt Zouma for me during the game was brilliant! For a 20 year old to basically keep Sergio Aguero quiet and make him look average for me is brilliant. Two big games he has played and performed in and that for me makes him not only one for the future but one for the present. Oscar, Willian and Azpilcueta did their jobs well, working hard when they needed to.

For me though man of the match had to be Matic. He was once again just a beast, breaking up play and taking the game by the scruff of the neck. For me in a really tight game I couldn’t see another player who matched him in quality. The two central midfielders for Manchester City Fernando and Fernandinho seemed to get away with 90% of every foul they committed and this was down to the disgusting performance of referee Mark Clattenberg.

Some of the buildup pre match was about how this was going to be the most watched Premier League ever and the stats of how many different countries would be watching the match and the spectacle of the league, and what everyone witnessed was how poor the state of refereeing is in England.

When I walked out the ground, walking alongside my Dad I pondered what American Football fans would think of the refs. With the Super Bowl, the biggest NFL game of the season happening tonight do you think an officiating performance like that would be tolerated? NO! So why does the state of refereeing continue to get worse? Shamefully the British media didn’t spotlight this enough which is a problem.

I thought the atmosphere was good again last night, whoever came up with the idea to turn off the lights as the teams come out was a really smart idea. Also the idea to blast out ‘Parklife’ with a great video montage to go with it also helps build the atmosphere pre match.

Pellegrini post match said he was “Not happy with the draw” which I think covered by the bitter and smug comments of how “His team was brave enough to come and play” is a true reflection of where the title race is.

For me it is advantage us in the title race for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, City have mostly been poor all season and have yet to reach the level of last season. The likes of Toure haven’t been has dominating and Manchester City still look like a team who expect things to happen on a Football pitch without putting in any effort which leads to the loses to Arsenal, Middlesborough and Stoke this season at home.

Also just looking at the away games Manchester City still have. The Citizens still have to travel to Liverpool, Manchester United and Stoke which are probably three of the toughest away games of the season.

This game no matter what the outcome was never going to “decide the title” but it could give either team the edge and looking at the table we have that so really there is no reason to moan in my opinion.

And lastly I felt the response to Frank Lampard at the end was a special moment. Bar, a small minority of the crowd who were drowned out I feel that Frank will always be my hero and moments and memories from Bolton to Munich will stay with me forever!

-Up The Chels!

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