Victor Moses to get first Chelsea start against a former loan club
By George Perry
Victor Moses spent years in the wilderness of Chelsea’s loan army before impressing Antonio Conte during the pre-season. He will start against a former loan side for the first time on Saturday against Stoke.
Chelsea loaned Victor Moses to Liverpool, Stoke City and West Ham United over the course of 2013-16. Earlier this season he came on as a late substitution against West Ham and Liverpool. He accumulated barely 10 minutes between the two matches.
But that was before everything changed. Back then, Victor Moses was a substitute right-midfielder in a half-way decent 4-1-4-1. Now he is the starting right wingback in a 3-4-3 looking for its 13th straight win.
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Chelsea’s last game of 2016 will be Victor Moses’ first chance to start against one of his former loan clubs. Ahead of the match, Stoke City manager Mark Hughes talked about how Moses’ 2014/15 season at Stoke prepared him for his star role under Antonio Conte.
"I’m not surprised at all. I’m going to take all the credit for all his defensive work because when he came here, he wasn’t great at that. We taught him how to defend and now he’s reaping the benefits at Chelsea! – Evening Standard"
Hughes’ comments may seem at first glance to be a combination of hubris and sour grapes. But Moses’ season at Stoke truly was a turning point in his career. His defensive statistics spiked under Hughes. This somewhat gives the lie to the idea that Moses was a purely offensive-oriented winger until adapting to Antonio Conte’s system.
Moses averaged 1.7 tackles per game and 1.2 interceptions per game while at Stoke. His previous best were 1 tackle per game in 2012/13 with Chelsea, and .7 interceptions per game in 2011/12 at Wigan. He currently averages 1.3 tackles and 1.4 interceptions this season.
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On the other side of the ball, Moses has already matched his goal output from his season at Stoke. His three goals have him well on his way to breaking his career-high six goals from his final season at Wigan.
Moses is shooting less but passing more this season than he did at Stoke. Under Antonio Conte, Moses either drives in off the wing and looks for a short final pass or aims a cross in towards Diego Costa. His crosses often hit the first defender, which limits their direct effectiveness but frequently lead to a Chelsea corner kick.
Mark Hughes knows as well as anyone else how dangerous Victor Moses is. Hughes probably rues Antonio Conte recognizing Moses’ talent and potential, and Stoke’s failure or unwillingness to secure Moses before his value skyrocketed.
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Hughes will simply have to grin and bear it as Moses marauds the right flank en route to Chelsea’s 13th straight win.