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After A Strong February, March Is Vital For Chelsea FC

By Ben Croft

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 21 : Chelsea celebrate after Eden Hazard of Chelsea scores to make it 4-1 as a dejected Manchester City team walk behind them during the Emirates FA Cup match between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on February 21, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 21 : Chelsea celebrate after Eden Hazard of Chelsea scores to make it 4-1 as a dejected Manchester City team walk behind them during the Emirates FA Cup match between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on February 21, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images) /
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After a strong February, Chelsea FC face an important and busy March as they continue their miraculous turnaround in form. Can they keep silverware hopes alive?

At the beginning of February I thought Chelsea needed to enter March in a higher position in the league, in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and with a good result in Paris to go into the second leg against PSG. Thankfully, all of these came true and now, bizarrely, the Blues find themselves in with a shot of qualifying for next season’s Champions League via the conventional route.

Guus Hiddink’s men are eight points behind fourth place Manchester City having played a game more but all of a sudden, some belief is creeping into the Chelsea fans and possibly the players that a top four finish is on the cards.

Chelsea kicked off February with two draws against Watford and Manchester United respectively. The performances in both games didn’t really fill the fans with any optimism and the Blues were quite lucky to get away with a point against the latter. The game against Watford saw Chelsea take control without creating too many clear cut opportunities so a point was probably a fair result.

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Then we saw an upturn in performances and results. This started with a 5-1 demolition of Newcastle which gave the squad a much needed confidence boost going into a crucial part of the season. Two games that could define our season were the PSG and Manchester City games in the Champions League and FA Cup. The slight downer on a great result was that captain John Terry suffered a hamstring injury which would rule him out for at least the rest of the month. This would afford Baba Rahman a run of games including the two against PSG and Man City.

The result in Paris was a tough one to take because I believe Chelsea deserved at least a draw for their ambition to score goals and their commitment and desire to stop the opposition from doing the same thing. Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic were incredible at centre-back. They put their bodies on the line and marked Zlatan Ibrahimovic out of the game. Diego Costa had two great chances to get on the scoresheet along with Oscar and Pedro but the 2-1 defeat wasn’t too disheartening for Chelsea.

They then faced an under-strength City side who had one mind on the Champions League tie against Dynamo Kiev. Nonetheless, this was a perfect opportunity for the Blues which they took in emphatic style. At the end of the day, you have to beat what is in front of you. Chelsea were ruthless in the second half and got the game wrapped up quickly. Another 5-1 victory rewarded us with a trip to Everton in the quarter-finals which will be another tough game.

February concluded with a plucky and determined performance at St Mary’s against Southampton. The players kept going and fought until the end to get the three points against a very resilient Saints side. Two wins and two draws in February saw Chelsea eighth with 11 games to go. The top four all of a sudden became possible.

SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 27: Chelsea players celebrate their second goal by Branislav Ivanovic (obscured) during the Barclays Premier League match between Southampton and Chelsea at St Mary's Stadium on February 27, 2016 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 27: Chelsea players celebrate their second goal by Branislav Ivanovic (obscured) during the Barclays Premier League match between Southampton and Chelsea at St Mary’s Stadium on February 27, 2016 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) /

Previewing March now, Chelsea already have vital games in the quest to progress in both cup competitions and climb up the league table. First of all, March kicked off with Chelsea claiming a 2-1 victory against Norwich in a far from vintage display but the job was done in the first half when Kenedy scored his first Premier League goal and Diego Costa doubled the lead right on half time.

With a somewhat disappointing draw against Stoke under their belt, games against PSG and Everton proceed within seven days and are probably the two most important games in Chelsea’s season so far. Two different competitions, with each game having its own importance.

Next: Chelsea FC Confirm That They Are Still Not ‘There’ In 1-1 Draw

The month is rounded off with a home game against high-flying West Ham which will be another tough test. March always provides games with significant importance, but the way Chelsea’s season has gone, the Champions League and FA Cup are the last chance saloon for silverware. It’s sure to be an exciting and nervy month ahead, with the Blues looking to reach April still in both cup competitions and still in the hunt for a top four finish.

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