Chelsea's trip to the Etihad Stadium was
billed as one of Jose Mourinho's greatest
tests. Manchester City, so deadly on home
turf, boasted a 100 per cent
perfect Premier League record in their
backyard, netting six times against both
Tottenham and Arsenal, and, before the
encounter, laid claim to the highest post-
war goals per game ratio.
Not only were City favourites but, according
to Mourinho, they were odds-on to hit yet
another London club for six. Much of the
pre-match build-up centred on the Chelsea
manager's criticism of West Ham's ultra-
defensive display in midweek; would the
former Real Madrid coach flirt with
hypocrisy and travel to the Etihad simply
looking to resist?
The answer was a resounding 'no'.
Mourinho, enthusing that his side would
“try to win knowing perfectly well we can
lose”, employed a bold, exhilarating and
even risky strategy. His side absorbed
pressure, and admittedly in the latter
stages dropped deeper and deeper, but
they also attacked in numbers and with a
gleeful expression and exuberance.
This was not the typical 1-0 win that was so
allied with Mourinho in his first coming.
Previously the side would have sat back
after taking the lead, but this Chelsea side
wanted more. They wanted to rip City apart
as the hosts have done to so many sides
this season. If there was one criticism, it is
that the Blues did not make the most of the
chances they created and would have been
out of sight but for their profligacy.
Mourinho's masterplan was built on a solid
defence, with Petr Cech not tested until the
73rd minute, clawing David Silva's free kick
away from goal. City only managed three
shots on target (half as many as Chelsea
managed), and save for some dangerous
crosses into the six-yard box, were limited
to shots from range.
The shut-out marks a remarkable
turnaround from a side that were a late
and controversial Eden Hazard penalty
away from losing at home to West Brom
and looked abject at the back earlier this
term. But, since losing to Stoke City at the
start of December, Chelsea are undefeated
and have conceded just three times,
recording six clean sheets in their last eight
games. In recent weeks, the back-line has
begun to resemble the defence that
dominated domestically during Mourinho's
first reign.
Nemanja Matic, making his first Premier
League start, was simply brilliant in front of
the back four. He matched the muscle and
horsepower of Yaya Toure, shrugging off
the Ivorian at times, and snuffed out
danger, but he also stepped up, drove
forward, rattled the bar and posted the
highest pass success of any Chelsea player.
The Serb typified a team performance that
married defensive responsibility and
attacking drive.
When Chelsea did win possession, they
sprung forward with almost delirious
ferocity and pace. Chelsea may have lured
City onto them, but they never parked the
fabled bus. They attacked with gusto,
engineering a four-versus-one situation
that should have produced a goal, while
Samuel Eto'o smashed the bar, before
right-back – yes, right-back – Branislav
Ivanovic bombed forward and thundered a
shot into the bottom corner.
At no point did Chelsea have their backs to
the wall. Mourinho had been criticised for
his damage limitation emphasis in goalless
draws at Old Trafford and the Emirates, but
this was a display of frontfoot football, it
oozed positivity and pulsed with attacking
adventure.
Any doubts surrounding Mourinho's
decision to axe Juan Mata and sell the
Spaniard to the reigning champions,
meanwhile, has surely been eviscerated.
The attacking trio behind lone frontman
Eto'o were everything Mourinho had asked
Mata to become. They defended from the
front, they pressed relentlessly, they forced
errors and they darted towards goal with
fearsome speed upon recovering
possession.
City's back-line and midfield, Martin
Demichelis in particular, were constantly on
the turn, constantly under pressure. Eden
Hazard, much like the transformation that
Arjen Robben has undergone at Bayern
Munich, combined his tricky, gliding genius
with renewed work rate, Willian brought
tenacity and drive in the hole, while
Ramires played as though he had a third
lung. Mata's patient probing has been
replaced with a flurry of jabs.
There is an idea that Mourinho can suck
the soul out of brightest attacking talents,
his defensive pragmatism overriding their
unpredictable sparkle (which, of course, is
why Mata the non-conformist was exiled),
but Hazard has only improved under his
tutelage. His every touch of the ball fizzed
as he danced towards goal and Chelsea's
new style feels as though it can take the
Belgian to another level.
One minor concern will be whether this is a
style that can overcome teams who sit back
and don't allow space on the break, with
wins over fellow title challengers rendered
insignificant if they continue to suffer as
they did against West Ham. There's also a
sense that this side has been engineered
predominantly with the Champions League
in mind.
Mourinho has been at pains to stress that
this Chelsea team, remoulded and
reimagined, is still in its infancy, still
forging an identity, but even at this early
stage they look a fearsome prospect. There
is also more fun and attacking freedom
now, even if the Blues aren't playing tiki-
taka, and the rest of the Premier League
should be extremely worried by just how
easy Chelsea made their victory over City
look.
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