Loftus-Cheek states his case: Five things learned as Chelsea overcome frustrating Europa League tie

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In a surprisingly tricky night of football, Chelsea just about overcame Vidi to win 1-0.

The win gives Chelsea a perfect six points from two games, but the display was far from convincing against the Hungarian side. Despite having home advantage they needed a sharp display from Kepa Arrizabalaga to keep their clean sheet intact and get the win.

So, what did we learn from Thursday night at Stamford Bridge?

1. Alvaro Morata and the power of perseverance

Alvaro Morata has had a rough time of things lately. He ended last season in miserable form and missed Spain’s World Cup squad as a result. He went through pre-season without a goal and in the nine previous competitive games played this season, the Spaniard had scored just one goal and that came against the comedy defensive stylings of Arsenal.

Morata looked to have carried that form into this game against Vidi, where the Spaniard spent so much of the game looking utterly toothless. His team-mates created good chances for him, in particular one delightful pass from Pedro to put him 1v1, but Morata missed every chance that came his way in mind-boggling fashion.

Then finally, with 20 minutes left in the game, Willian headed a Cesc Fabregas cross into Morata’s path and the Spaniard just lashed his foot at the ball. The contact was sweet and the ball rocketed high into the roof of the net to give his side the lead and the win.

It was a momentous moment for him, and while it didn’t lead to a great performance in the wake of it (although he made an excellent defensive clearance in stoppage time, heading a corner away) it will surely give him more confidence in front of goal in the future.

2. Sarri’s sad selections

In such a relatively easy Europa League group, you would think a side as overflowing with young talent as Chelsea are would use the competition to blood some of them. Ethan Ampadu and Callum Hudson-Odoi are the two most obvious candidates for first-team minutes. Hudson-Odoi showed in pre-season that he is a great sub for Hazard, and Ampadu has become a literal Welsh international so why you wouldn’t want him on the field is truly baffling.

Mateo Kovacic gets brought down after gliding past the opposition

And yet it was Gary Cahill and Willian who got the nods in key roles ahead of the youngsters. Moreover, Mateo Kovacic retained a starting berth ahead of Ross Barkley, although the Englishman did come off the bench. It was just a disappointing series of selections that gave Chelsea’s team a wishy-washy feel, and that led to a wishy-washy kind of performance.

3. Chelsea’s brittle back-line

One problem with Sarrismo is the way it exposes you to counter-attacks. The idea is obviously that you control so much of the ball that your opponent simply doesn’t have the opportunity to attack you. But that’s obviously not the case and Chelsea have shown a consistent vulnerability to rapid counter-attacks all season long.

On Thursday night, in particular, it felt absurd. Chelsea had their back-ups out, but they were playing Vidi. Vidi. Yet the Hungarians ran through the Chelsea on the break on so many occasions it was concerning.

Had Kepa not played so well and Vidi had a bit more luck they could have shocked the world by winning at Stamford Bridge.

4. Loftus-Cheek states his case

Ruben Loftus-Cheek has shown his supreme talent both last season on loan at Crystal Palace and at the World Cup with England. He has been begging for a chance, and against Vidi he was finally given that. Suffice to say, he took that chance and put on a genuinely impressive performance in what was a largely forgettable team display.

The Chelsea players mostly moved with a great sense of lethargy, but Loftus-Cheek carried the ball with his usual style and athleticism, breezing by Vidi players with ease and driving into danger zones. One of these runs led to him being bundled over in the box, and even though he didn’t get a penalty it was abundantly clear just what he offers to Chelsea and why he should be considered a serious option for Premier League minutes.

5. Chelsea keep on rolling

The win against Vidi makes it 11 games without defeat for Chelsea. The Blues haven’t lost since the Community Shield and although they have drawn their last two league games, they are definitely a side with serious momentum. They can play well and win, and play poorly and win, or even play poorly and not lose.

Even tonight against Vidi, where Chelsea definitively didn’t play well (Sarri himself admitted as much) their goalkeeper stepped up to keep them in the game. And Alvaro Morata looked like he couldn’t buy a goal, but through sheer perseverance and great movement he kept on plugging away and eventually got his goal.

The big thing with Maurizio Sarri was always going to be how Chelsea performed as they adapted to his “Sarrismo” style of play. Once they “get it,” they will play well that’s for sure. The fact that they continue to rack up wins and draws even whilst not playing well should fill their fans with so much hope for just how far they can go in the future.

The post Loftus-Cheek states his case: Five things learned as Chelsea overcome frustrating Europa League tie appeared first on Squawka News.



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