Chelsea 6 - 0 Wolves

Tuesday 25^th September:

Chelsea 6 – 0 Wolves

The league cup always offers a glimpse into the future of the club and provides some deserved debuts to young and upcoming players. Chelsea took just 4 minutes to take the lead against a mediocre Wolves side, the end result being a controlled 6-0 drumming. The ‘ferocious’ Wolves, who boasted good Championship form going into this contest, were more like feeble puppies as they failed to string more than 2 passes together in this non-contest. Chelsea’s performance was wave after wave of free flowing, attacking football in a performance that was only missing one thing – a John Terry goal. The Chelsea captain was cheered constantly by the exuberant home support in the midst of his FA trail and a day after he had announced his international retirement. Lucas Piazon made his debut after performing brilliantly for the reserves throughout last season. The Brazilian youngster drifted in and out of the game but did not look out of place in the first team; the promising debut included an assist for Bertrand’s goal. Another debutant was Cesar Azpilicueta; the Spanish right back appeared to be a fine stand in should Ivanovic ever succumb to injury or need a rest. The Wolves attack found it impossible to get past the Spaniard as the fans found it impossible to pronounce his name. Azpilicueta and Bertrand look like terrific Chelsea fullbacks for the future although they will have some big boots to fill when replacing AC3 and Branislav. Another fine performance came from the likes of Gary Cahill who got the blues off to a flying start when opening the scoring after just 4 minutes. In games such as this an early goal is vital, it opens the game up and allows Chelsea to play the attractive football that the owner craves. Cahill has scored 3 goals already this season and must be wondering what more he has to do to get off the bench and into the starting XI. An opportunity will come soon as JT’s ban will open the door for the Champions League final winner. Chelsea will now host Man Utd in the next round of the Capital One Cup; the fixture will be played on Wednesday 31^st October. 

Chelsea 2 - 2 Juventus

Wednesday 19^th September:

Chelsea 2 – 2 Juventus

A typically defensive and organised performance from the Italian league leaders saw Chelsea struggle to establish any attacking threat in the final third for the first half hour. That was until a magical 2 minutes for Brazilian wonder-kid Oscar; the 21 year old wearing the infamous number 11 shirt would have made Drogba proud with his second strike finding the top corner after gloriously turning Pirlo. Oscar then used his adrenalin to cover every inch of the playing surface – further repaying RDM for the decision to award him his first start in Chelsea blue. The buzzing atmosphere at the Bridge was over too soon as Juventus fired themselves back into the game 7 minutes before halftime. The second half was a mixture of Juventus possession littered with Chelsea mistakes and the Italian side deservedly equalised 10 minutes from time. Although Vucinic was kept quiet by JT, Juventus’ number 3 Chiellini had an outstanding defensive performance playing as the left third of a back 3 formation. His pace and strength saw off the likes of Torres and Hazard on countless occasions. It seemed Chelsea’s midfield was horribly outbalanced when Mata replaced the yellow-carded Ramires, perhaps a Champions League debut for Moses could have parted the sea of Juventus defence. The same old problem, a lack of width, was evident throughout the 90 minutes. Winning home games is essential when trying to qualify out of a Champions League group. However, Chelsea fans will be all too familiar with the club making it as hard as possible for themselves. Can Chelsea be the first team to retain their European crown? It’s hard to imagine from tonight’s performance.

Juventus started the summer with some audacious bids for Robin Van Persie, yet ended up signing Nicklas Bendtner on loan. I imagine the fans were ecstatic with that transfer coup. Respect was lost for the Racing Post and Tony Cascarino who tipped Arsenal outcast Bendtner to be Juventus’ top Champions League goal scorer at 7/2. The Dane will not usually start before Vucinic and isn’t exactly a prolific hit man even if an opportunity arises. Benfica must have let a couple of accumulators down with a goalless draw against Celtic. The Bhoys didn’t achieve a shot on target but their European home record speaks for itself, However Barcelona will inevitably put that to the test again this season. Atletico Madrid looked too hot for opposition yet again in the Europa League on Thursday night and have been smashed into 9/1 for a tournament they have made their own in recent years. Yet football punters beware that betting for the Europa League outright is pointless until the Champions League teams get drawn in after the group stages.