The Blues recorded their second win under the guidance on interim coach, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Roberto-c31294 Di Matteo, but their performance on the pitch left a lot to be desired. Didier Drogba rescued the men in blue with the lone goal of the game.
Peter Cech – 6
The Czech international had precious little to do on the night. With Stoke down to ten man for a better part of the game, he was a silent spectator; however; he dealt well with anything that was thrown at him.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Branislav-Ivanovic-c7994 – 7
Lasted only for the first half after receiving http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ricardo-c30950 Fuller’s ugly stamp. Before that, however, he had the right side of the field all to himself. Hit the bar with a powerful effort and kept running up and down the flank. He needs to produce a similar
performance in the midweek against Napoli if Chelsea are to progress in the continental competition.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gary-Cahill-c14439 – 7
Started ahead of the error-prone David Luiz and did his first team chances no harm with an assured display. To his credit, he tried to build from the back. Needless to say, he is blending in well with the Blues outfit.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/John-Terry-c18895 – 7.5
Terry returned to the first team fold with a commanding performance and was unlucky not to have scored. Chelsea missed his influence in the Champions League defeat against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Napoli-c40003 and he needs to be there for his team come the midweek clash.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ashley-Cole-c6809 – 7
Cole was back to his marauding best. Dealt with everything thrown at him with consummate ease and made frequent inroads in the opposition half.
Ramires - 7
A typical http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ramires-c30523 performance: lots of running, boundless energy and team work; however, his passing needs to improve still if he’s to become a complete midfield player.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/John-Obi-Mikel-c18882 – 6.5
Struggled to impose himself on the proceedings but got better as the match progressed. His http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Job-c18684 was made much easier by Fuller’s red card, though.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Raul-Meireles-c30678 – 5.5
He’s clearly not the answer to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786’s midfield woes. His passing was inaccurate and his shots ended up in the stands more often than not. He should have done much better with the room he was provided after the sending off.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Didier-Drogba-c11044 – 7
The crowd favourite fought like a lone ranger for much of the match. Had little space to work in, but delivered the goods where it mattered the most with a cool finish.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Salomon-Kalou-c32266 – 5.5
Not a good outing by Kalou, who, despite sending in some good balls from the wing, had little to offer to Drogba in Service.
Subs:
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/David-Luiz-c10542 – 6.5
Came in for Ivanovic and played decently. Often ventured into the opposition half but his final product was somewhat lacking.
Juan Mata – 8
Hands down Chelsea’s player of the season. Brought a sense of purpose to the Chelsea attack, making use of the space intelligently. Created Drogba’s goal with innate playmaking skills.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Daniel-Sturridge-c10076 – 6
Was thrown in to open the Stoke defence with Chelsea chasing the win. While Chelsea did score moments after his substitution, he had little to do with the goal.
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