Chelsea wasn’t good, but the Blues were good enough

Chelsea earned three massive points at home against already-relegated Norwich. While it wasn’t pretty, winning matches is the only focus at the moment.

After an abysmal performance at the weekend against Sheffield United, Chelsea had to come out and grab three points. Fellow top four competitors Manchester United and Leicester City failed to bridge the gap between the Blues and themselves, so a victory against Norwich was even more crucial.

Due to the fact the Canaries had already been relegated, nobody knew how they’d come out. They would either take the pitch lacking passion or without fear; Daniel Farke’s side decided on the latter approach. While Norwich wasn’t aggressive, it wasn’t complacent either. The Canaries frustrated Chelsea by maintaining a compact defensive shape when the hosts were on the ball. Chelsea did not play well by any means—all credit to Norwich—but it played well enough.

The Blues dominated in nearly every statistic in the game, posting nearly 20 shots and almost 70 percent possession. However, with the score line finishing 1-0, the performance was nothing to write home about. Fans had hoped for more after a less-than-convincing performance at Bramall Lane, but the Blues weren’t all that bad.

The general tone amongst many following the final whistle was largely negative—let’s look at the positives. Any football fans with a sense of what’s going on in each match and a working pair of eyes will tell you the Chelsea defense is woeful. However, the Blues’ back line kept a clean sheet against Norwich. After the Canaries went toe-to-toe with Chelsea in the pair’s first match at the beginning of the season, this is a nice improvement.

Kepa Arrizabalaga had little to do and the centerback pairing of Kurt Zouma and Antonio Rudiger likely spent as much time in the opponent’s half as they did their own. Both Marcos Alonso and Cesar Azpilicueta put on solid defensive showings, but were also able to contribute heavily going forward. Norwich failed to piece together a convincing attack and while that doesn’t produce any stellar standout moments at the back, it builds confidence going forward.

Further, the Blues created a fair amount of big chances. The Blues missed four of five of their best efforts on goal in the match, but that won’t always happen. Seldom do Olivier Giroud and Christian Pulisic not have their shooting boots on. On the off chance they both forget to lace them up, it’s nice to know Chelsea can still manage a win. In all honesty, this game could’ve been put to bed relatively early on if the front three performed as it has since the restart. Regardless, the lead presented Frank Lampard with the opportunity to pull Pulisic and Giroud before full time and get the forwards a much needed break before the final three matches.

Lastly, despite a makeshift midfield and a run-out for some substitutes, the Blues kept their composure. Norwich never threatened Arrizabalaga’s goal. The home side, fielding a trio yet to play together in the middle of the park, did a wonderful job halting any Canaries counterattack chances.

It wasn’t always football that was easy on the eyes, but the job got done. Nobody is going to tell you it was a beautiful match on Chelsea’s end, it wasn’t, but it was tidy. Everybody wanted more after the beating the Blues took at Bramall Lane; beggars cannot be choosers.

Chelsea will remain in third place heading into match week 37. The Blues secured a much needed three points and inched even closer to securing a Champions League spot. At the end of the day, isn’t that all that matters in the present?