Soccer Premier League

Chelsea Finding Success By Winning Ugly

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By @GregSulik

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Chelsea have never been accused of playing the most beautiful football of any team, and the last couple games wouldn’t have changed anyone’s mind. However, the Blues picked up another crucial three points in a 1-0 home win against a very stubborn Everton side today, maintaining their seven point advantage over Manchester City.

Chelsea struggled to break down the Toffees’ defense without Cesc Fàbregas and Diego Costa despite the much anticipated full debut of Juan Cuadrado. Cuadrado had a promising first start, showcasing his dribbling skills on the edge of the box and tracking back well defensively. It is easy to imagine him being able to create more opportunities when Costa returns from suspension.

However, too often Eden Hazard was the only legitimate attacking threat for Chelsea, as the young Belgian turned in another stellar performance. Hazard’s ball control may be the best in the Premier League, but even he wasn’t able to fully break down the defense and create the goal Chelsea needed. It wasn’t until Willian slammed home a rebound from a Tim Howard punch in the 88th minute that the Blues finally took the lead and earned their three points.

This victory came on the heels of a hard fought 2-1 win at Aston Villa and the big 1-1 draw to Man City two weeks ago. Although Chelsea are not blowing away the opposition with goals, they are doing everything they need to get points. Kurt Zouma impressed in defense again, and there is a strong argument for him to regularly replace Gary Cahill in the back line. Nemanja Matic had another banner game in front of them, consistently breaking up the Everton attack and forcing passes to go sideways or backwards.

This came summed up what Jose Mourinho is all about: strong, disciplined defense, counter attacks, and getting results. Chelsea have plenty of world class attacking talent, and the goals will come as Fàbregas gets healthy and Costa returns from suspension. However, you have to give Chelsea plenty of credit for getting the job done on a day when they were far from their best.

At the end of the day, the results matter more than the style of play, and right now winning ugly is helping Chelsea win a championship.

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