Chelsea FC Squeeze Past Norwich City 1-0

Chelsea FC managed to get the result that they needed.

The Premier League returned this afternoon after a week or so off due to the international break. The Blues welcomed Norwich City to Stamford Bridge as they looked to get their season back on track.

There was a surprise in the starting line-up as Kenedy got the nod in the left-back role. Branislav Ivanovic returned at right-back meaning that Cesar Azpilicueta dropped to the bench, much to the confusion of many.

Chelsea started fairly brightly and had asserted their dominance by the end of the first period. Eden Hazard seemed refreshed as he eagerly picked up the ball and ran at numerous Canaries defenders

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Having said that, Jose Mourinho’s men failed to do anything substantial with the possession that they had. There was a lot of sideways passing but little penetration as the likes of Willian, Cesc Fabregas and Hazard struggled to feed Diego Costa.

The first real chance for the Blues came shortly after a quarter of the contest had passed. Pedro managed to wriggle his way to the byline down the left flank before cutting the ball back into the box. Costa, though, smashed the cross over the bar in a chance that any quality striker would back himself to take.

Chelsea’s lack of teeth almost came back to bite them in the 34th minute, ironically. A Norwich break saw the ball come to the feet of Robbie Brady just inside Asmir Begovic’s box. Willian came charging back only to push him over and clear the ball. The general consensus was indeed a spot kick, but referee Craig Pawson waved play on.

Frustration with Costa, meanwhile, grew with each minute, as the striker failed to get into useful positions. These sentiments reached a crescendo soon after the Norwich chance, when Hazard cut a ball back across the box only for no Chelsea player to be in sight.

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Unfortunately for Costa, this was quickly followed by an incident in which the forward decided to go down (far too easily) instead of taking shot despite being barely six yards out. Certainly a sign of a striker low on confidence.

More unfortunately for Costa (is that a phrase?), he failed to convert a golden chance to put Chelsea in the lead right before halftime. Almost immediately after a Norwich break forced John Terry to clear a Sebastian Bassong effort off the line, Costa found himself inside the box with bags of time and the goal at his mercy. He didn’t score and the half ended 0-0.

All the talk at the half was about bringing on Loic Remy for the dismal Costa, but no changes were made by either side as the teams emerged for the second 45.

Alex Neil’s charges stepped up their physicality after the break, with several fouls breaking up any attempted Blues fluidity.

Costa, meanwhile, continued to test the fans’ patience with another great cross by Hazard running straight through the Norwich box just after the hour mark.

However, he would soon make amends as he netted the winning goal in the 64th minute. A Chelsea free-kick was taken quickly by a sharp-thinking Fabregas, with the ball directed at the Blues’ bemoaned striker. A cut-in was followed by a composed right-footed finish to send Chelsea into the lead and Stamford Bridge into forgiveness.

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The notable lack of celebration summed up Costa’s frustration with his own game over the last few months.

Kurt Zouma hit the crossbar from a Willian set-piece mere moments later before Chelsea entered a nervy last 20 minutes.