1. Title chasers
WITH THREE GAMES left in La Liga, Diego Simeone’s side are four points clear of Barcelona and look set to be crowned champions for the first time since 1996. But, as well as being the clear title favourites, Atleti are showing no nerves. From their last ten games, they’ve dropped just two points and that was in the local derby against Real. Perhaps most worryingly for Chelsea (who need to score) ahead of tonight’s fixture is that from those ten games, Atleti have conceded just one goal.
But, last weekend, Chelsea breathed new life into their title challenge. And as much as Jose Mourinho wants to distance himself from the possibility of his side finishing the campaign as Premier League champions, they do have a couple of relatively painless fixtures ahead against a hapless Norwich and a (surely) condemned Cardiff. Is it too much to ask for Chelsea’s win at Anfield on Sunday to have a substantial psychological effect on Liverpool’s remaining games against Crystal Palace and Newcastle? And is it too optimistic to ponder Manchester City failing to win against Everton, Aston Villa or West Ham? Maybe so. And maybe Mourinho is correct to remain adamant that Chelsea should forget about the title. But, everyone involved with the club are surely buoyed by the fact that they’re challenging again.
2. Different Chelsea style? Maybe not
Chelsea need to score tonight. But, all they need is one goal and they possess the defensive capabilities to frustrate Atleti and keep a clean-sheet. They’ve kept five in their last six games despite recent injuries to their goalkeeper and key defenders. At the start of the month, they suffered a hammering in their Champions League quarter-final first leg clash against PSG. But, to contextualise, that was the first time a Chelsea team managed by Jose Mourinho shipped three goals since February 2006. The response has been excellent, outside of the Sunderland result. In recent weeks, they’ve shut-out PSG, Atletico and Liverpool – three of Europe’s most potent attacking sides.
It’s also worth looking at Atleti’s season so far, in terms of where they’ve struggled. They’ve been held scoreless on six occasions – five times domestically and once in Europe. Four of the domestic games came away from home and the Champions League fixture was against Chelsea. Mourinho has frustrated Simeone before and, should Chelsea grab a relatively early goal this evening, it wouldn’t be the worst thing to rely on the defensive solidarity they’ve shown off so impressively in recent games.
3. Diego Costa’s ‘drought’
It’s been a tough April for Diego Costa. On the first of the month, the attacker was forced off with a thigh muscle injury just half an hour into Atleti’s Champions League quarter-final first leg clash against Barcelona. A couple of weeks later, in his comeback against Getafe, he stretched to get on the end of an Adrian Lopez cross, applied the all-important touch and crashed into the upright. He was carried off, clearly in a lot of pain. Afterwards, Simeone rubbished reports that the injury was anything other than minor. But, ever since, Costa has struggled. He hasn’t scored from open play since the Getafe game – a 90th-minute penalty against Elche his last goal. But this isn’t the first time he’s found himself struggling with form. His response to going two games without a goal in early March was to rack up six in his next five. If he’s undergone a poor April, it’s still not a patch on January when he failed to score for the entire month. It’s clear that his relentless goal-scoring has tailed off somewhat but that’s only because it was so incredibly impressive before Christmas. What we have learned about Costa this season is that he always recovers from slumps. Simeone will be hoping that Chelsea find out the hard way.
4. Thibaut Courtois’s return to Stamford Bridge
Everyone loves a simmering subplot and though there’s been a multitude of rumours linking Diego Costa with a summer move to Stamford Bridge, the greatest narrative revolves around Atleti goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois – a Chelsea employee – who will desperately attempt to eliminate his parent club from the tournament this evening. Should the game finish scoreless after ninety minutes and extra time, the subsequent penalty shootout should prove incredibly interesting viewing. Not least for the Chelsea directors who have allowed the supremely-talented youngster to develop rapidly elsewhere. Before the first-leg clash, and in the aftermath of the ‘will he/won’t he’ controversy surrounding Courtois’s participation in the game, the youngster said “Even though I’m at Atletico, Chelsea are my club”.
Last weekend, the 21 year-old racked up his 100th career clean-sheet. Not one of them has come in Chelsea colours.
5. Demba Ba’s role
Samuel Eto’o is fit for tonight’s game and, considering all of his twelve Chelsea goals have come at Stamford Bridge, he will probably be handed a starting role by Jose Mourinho. But, if it’s a decisive goal Chelsea are looking for, it can be argued that Demba Ba is the striker Mourinho should entrust. Eto’o certainly has impressed at various intervals – the hat-trick against Manchester United, the winner against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in December. If Mourinho wants to come out fast and furious and attempt to nick a goal early on, Eto’o has form. Against Sunderland, Arsenal, Galatasaray, United and Liverpool the veteran scored inside the opening twenty minutes. But, if Chelsea are struggling to break through and are chasing a breakthrough well into the second half, chances are that Eto’o will already have been replaced.
Ba is a man reborn – the critical goal against PSG completely turning his season around. He was rewarded with a start against Swansea and he grabbed another winner.
The strike against Liverpool meanwhile, depending on circumstances, bears similarities to Michael Thomas’ famous goal in 1989. He’s a man in form and Chelsea are all the better for it.
