Chelsea goes 13 hours without conceding at home
English Premier League champions, Chelsea went without conceding a league goal at Stamford Bridge for over 13 hours.
Chelsea beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 on Saturday in the Premier League. Although, both goals came from some aggressive attacking and clinical finishing, thanks to the in-form Frenchman Florent Malouda and the Ivorian striker Salomon Kalou but the credit for victory must be given to the hardworking defence.
Wolves attacked from the outset and tried hard to breach the Chelsea defence, any attempt of offensive play was masterfully sniffed out by the Blues. John Terry, backed by Petr Cech’s flawless goalkeeping, marshalled his defensive troops well as the champions managed to register their 8th consecutive clean sheet at home.
In the process, Carlo Ancelotti’s men made it 781 minutes without conceding a goal at home, thus making a new Chelsea record. Previously, Blues had managed to keep the ball out of their net at home for 675 minutes; a record that was set in 2004-2005 season under the management of Jose Mourinho.
The last man to have scored at Bridge in Premier League was John Carew, who had scored for Aston Villa in a 7-1 Chelsea win during March last season.
The Chelsea skipper and central defender, John Terry was humble enough to credit his teammates for the record.
The former England captain said, “We’ve been defending not just as a back four but as a back five also because Big Pete (Petr Cech) has been exceptional this year. I’m playing alongside some of the best in the world with Ashley Cole, Ivanovic or Alex, and we’ve seen Bosingwa come back as well - coming in for Paulo, who’s been brilliant.”
Former Chelsea boss, Jose Mourinho had always emphasized on the importance of a strong defence. During his reign, the club managed to win 2 Premier League titles consecutively in 2004/05 and 2005/06 seasons. In those days, a single goal was almost always enough for Chelsea to win a match while they kept a clean sheet at the back.
Their current boss Ancelotti has been able to build on the strong defensive core of the team and add attacking flare to Chelsea’s style of play, something that had lacked in the days of ‘the special one’. Chelsea have the best attacking record in the league backed by best defensive record. After 9 league games, the side from West London have scored 25 goals while conceding only 2.
With such momentum behind, the players are performing together as a well oiled machine. Blues are favourites to retain their championship crown. So, one should think twice before betting against them.
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