Nemanja Matic believes that a Chelsea FC win this weekend will make people forget about the Swansea City game
Nemanja Matic sat down with Sky Sports to discuss Chelsea FC’s upcoming fixture against Manchester City. Matic insisted that his team is capable of toppling City on Sunday, and that a good performance will erase the disappointment of last week from everyone’s memories.
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The Blues drew their opening game of the 2015/16 Premier League season 2-2 with Swansea City, and in fact could regard themselves lucky to have escaped with the draw. The dismissal of Thibaut Courtois early into the second half left Chelsea over-exposed to a dangerous Swans outfit. Jefferson Montero, in particular, ran rings around Branislav Ivanovic down the left flank and probably deserved a goal for his efforts.
This was on the back of a strange pre-season in which they failed to win a single game, but Matic believes that the doubts surrounding the Blues this early into season will be forgotten should they beat City this weekend.
"It doesn’t matter what you did yesterday, the most important thing is what you’re going to do tomorrow. If we draw, then that’s not great for us. But if we win, then no one will be talking about Swansea."
This is completely valid, and exactly what Chelsea fans hope will happen. The Blues have been borderline terrible up to this point, even though the side is virtually unchanged from the one that lifted the Premier League title in May. It seems as if the squad just needs something to click them into gear, and a win at The Etihad on Sunday could be just that.
The good news is that the midfielder is confident in taking the three points, and cites Jose Mourinho’s big-game record as a reason to be.
"We are prepared. Our statistics against big teams show how he (Mourinho) prepares for these games and I’m happy because of that."
The boss always seems to come away with at least a point in games against the likes of Man City, and despite the poor performances of the Blues thus far, Chelsea will still be expecting to pick up a draw from Sunday’s clash as a minimum.
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What is more comforting is the evident belief Matic has in winning the game outright. The Serb states that a draw is not good enough and although that may be lip service, football matches can’t be won without such confidence. Even in the second game of the season, this could almost be like a six-pointer for the Blues psychologically. Anything other than a victory will leave them at least four points off the lead, which will do nothing to alleviate the pressure on the club.
When you take a step back, such a deficit after two games should not really be blinked at. However, these days the mental side of football is increasingly significant due to the constant debating and speculation that happens in the press and online. This is what makes it an issue.
Furthermore, it is not just last weekend’s game that the Blues want people to forget about, it is also the Eva Carneiro controversy that followed. Mourinho will undoubtedly be desperate for his team to put in a performance that turns the media’s attention away from the backroom staff and onto the pitch.
Let’s just wait and see then.
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