No doubt, the embarrassing defeat of Chelsea to their former manager’s team, Manchester United, last week has snatched three important points from them allowing their chasers, Spurs, to call the title race back.
However, the five-time Premier League champions, already on the top of the table, have marked another step towards their sixth by recording a 4-2 win over Southampton.
Diego Costa is the man
The win is most essentially attributed to our all-time favorite striker Diego Costa who scored a brace and ended his six-game goal drought in style; first by heading Fabregas’ cross and then by showing nifty footwork in the box finally hitting the ball back of the net.
The Spain international was benched along with his striking partner, Hazard, in the FA Cup semifinal against Tottenham Hotspur and was only made to play in the last 30 minutes as the Chelsea boss was prioritizing this clash with Southampton.
The decision was risky yet bold, and in fact worked in the favor of the Chelsea striker.
He not only performed his goal-duty finely but also applied himself well on the pitch by contributing a further assist leading to Hazard’s early goal.
The Blues have bounced back
This is the second victory of Blues following their FA Cup semifinal win over Spurs few days back.
This must be the result of longer training hours as part of Conte’s plan to refocus his squad following the defeat to Manchester United; the squad has been in great attacking form in the last two matches.
Defence is a concern
However, there is something lacking in the squad – their defense! It has been the concern since the start of the season until Conte shifted to the back-three system which did work well resulting in a 13-game winning streak.
Yet again, after their last clean sheet against Hull City in late January, Chelsea have been conceding.
Maybe the other teams have figured out the way out of their back-three now?
Leaky defence needs looking into
Thanks to their good attacking base which somehow manages to give the team a lead by at least one goal, most of the time.
But still, their leaky defense is something to be alarmed since it may expose their defensive flaws anytime in the remaining five fixtures.
In fact in the last game, the two conceded goals were the result of defensive chaos and lack of attentiveness by the home team.
They have to work more on their defensive drills now and Cobham HQ must be on lockdown again to ensure this.
They have to build up the defense stronger not only for the remaining season, but for the next season too especially ahead of their return to Champions League action.
Written by Farkhanda Jabeen
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