Chelsea FC Defeat Norwich City: Key Takeaways
Final Thoughts
Why offload Mohamed Salah and Juan Cuadrado, then choose to sign another player similar in style to both players? I had questioned Chelsea’s signing of Pedro, who almost made me eat my words after his impressive debut against West Brom. The ex-Barcelona prodigy has since failed to hit the target with any of his attempts at goal in the Premier League.
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While his pace and ability to shoot with both feet were major assets in the Spanish La Liga where all teams consider the art of defending a taboo, it has become more of a liability in the EPL where teams defend closer to goal.
His slight frame (one of the major reasons for the struggles of Salah and Cuadrado) has been another negative side to his game as he is easily shrugged of the ball. The fact that he is currently five years older than Salah (who cost the Blues half less) and a year older than Cuadrado makes the transfer even more silly. Chelsea would have been better served giving opportunities to players from the academy or bringing Salah back instead of spending the £21 million for the Spaniard. Another example of an English side duped by the overhyped La Masia academy!
Saturday’s El Clasico turned out to be a massive anti-climax as Real Madrid, boasting all their top players where soundly thrashed by a Lionel Messi-less Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu. That was a real baptism of fire for the ever underwhelming Rafa Benitez, who clearly looks out of his depths managing Real Madrid.
Also, Liverpool’s 4-1 thrashing of Manchester City at the Ethihad was another totally unexpected result. Jurgen Klopp is seemingly getting much more from the team than Brendan Rodgers managed, if recent away wins against both Chelsea and Man City are taken into consideration.
Jamie Vardy’s and Claudio Ranieri’s heroics continued on Saturday. Leicester City are now two points clear of Manchester City at the top of the table, with Jamie Vardy’s 13th league goal of the season putting him firmly on top of the scorer’s chart and keeping him as one of Europe’s most prolific strikers.
He clearly benefitted from not having to play another meaningless international friendly match due to his injury. They next entertain a Manchester United side who needed a Troy Deeney own-goal to secure 3 points against Watford and who will have to navigate a tricky European tie on Wednesday. They will probably not get a better chance to secure three points against Louis Van Gaal’s side!
Next: Chelsea FC Travel To Israel: Chelsea Predicted XI
The Blues next go away to Maccabi Tel Aviv on Tuesday in a tie that could decide Chelsea’s fate in the Champions League, with the difficult clash against FC Porto coming up at Stamford Bridge next. A win coupled with a Porto draw or victory against Dynamo Kyiv would seal Chelsea’s qualification to the knock-out stages. Anything less may be detrimental to the Blues chances, as winning this competition may be the team’s only chance of making it back to the tournament next season.