Chelsea FC were fortunate to leave Loftus Road with all three points as Queens Park Rangers put up a fight until the dying minutes of the match. Cesc Fabregas’s winner came in the 88th minute of a tense and scrappy match against the relegation-threatened Hoops and it was emblematic of the Chelsea’s never say die attitude this season.
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Jose Mourinho spoke at length to ChelseaFC.com about the match and said the late winner is “like a little light that shines for the teams that are going to be champions.We lost two points in Manchester in the last minute but we won these two points, and we won two points against Everton in the last minute.”
The Blues actually lost a total of four points against both Manchester sides due to late equalizer under controversial circumstances. Frank Lampard came off the bench to score for 10-man City and Robin Van Persie scored for United after Branislav Ivanovic was harshly sent off for a tackle on Angel di Maria. At the time, both goals were seen as huge blows to Chelsea FC’s title hopes and sowed seeds of doubt in the minds of supporters everywhere.
Against Everton and QPR, the Blues were able to nick six points at the end of these matches through two scrappy and contested goals. Both Willian and Fabregas made late runs and saw their shots improbably squeeze past the respective goalkeepers. It was the luck of champions coming to fruition against two sides that were dogged defensively for nearly 90 minutes.
Mourinho admitted that he would have been fine with a draw because of how well QPR had played and contained the Chelsea attack. He said “It was a typical 0-0. I think we played well in the circumstances. The opponent didn’t let us play better.I’m very happy with my team because we always kept good emotional control, we never lost balance and we were not under pressure. If we had to go home with a point we would have gone home with a point. We were always very stable and we scored at the crucial moment.”
The Blues had the majority of possession but were suffocated at the cramped and lively ground and Mourinho attributed the early start to some of the lack of intensity. The goal was actually Chelsea’s only shot on target for the entire match and some of that had to do with Mourinho being forced to start Didier Drogba.
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Loic Remy suffered a muscle injury in training yesterday so Drogba stepped up and played his role well. He is obviously not the same player he once was but he did what was asked of him in a tough and physical matchup.
File this win in the “ugly” and “vital” categories as it was one of those tricky fixtures where Chelsea have had little luck in recent years. These matches at Loftus Road often ended with Chelsea drawing or losing 1-0 and having a player sent off. This time the Blues kept their nerve and saw off a tough and desperate opponent and earned a vital three points.
Photos by @cfcunoffical (Chelsea Debs). On Twitter and at cfcunofficial.com
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