Chelsea barely managed to scrape through with a win against Crystal Palace over the weekend, thanks to N’Golo Kante’s goal. However, things had gotten from bad to worse before that with star striker Olivier Giroud getting subbed off after an injury that could potentially keep him out for several weeks.
This further adds to Maurizio Sarri’s problems and maybe it’s a good thing that the January window is up and running.
Despite all that, the Eagles proved to be tough opponents for the Blues as they struggled to break down a rigid defence, taking a little over 30 minutes for the first shot on target. In the end, a splendid David Luiz pass found Kante and the World Cup winner made no mistake putting it past Vicente Guaita.
That being said, here are three reasons why Chelsea won:
The Frenchman is the best defensive midfielder in the world; that’s not conjecturing but a simple fact. His performances last season and at Russia have made him the best player in his particular position with few coming close to Kante. However, Sarri has opted to play him as a right central midfielder in his midfield three, with Jorginho as the holding midfielder.
And while the 26-year-old had his fair share of critics over the last few months, it looks like he has finally adapted and adjusted to a more attacking role. The Frenchman is still the same world-class defensive midfielder but he’s added an element of goal-scoring and attacking instinct to his game, making him even more lethal.
As it has been mentioned many times before – and will be mentioned many times in the near future – Chelsea need to sign a bonafide world-class goal-scorer. While they do have Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata, neither of the two has managed to click yet, with Morata especially struggling to find confidence while on the field.
The Blues need someone they can depend on, especially if the club want to challenge Liverpool and Manchester City for the Premier League title. To get someone good enough would mean spending big money. Given that there are only a few players in the world worth spending that money on, Chelsea will have to choose their target carefully.
The Belgian international has been used as a false nine in recent weeks by Chelsea and surprisingly, the Belgian has improved. Not only has his stats gone up but the 27-year-old has turned into a brilliant playmaker and it has been a crucial part behind Chelsea’s successes.
While Hazard is an out-and-out winger, the Blues superstar has shown that if needed, he can play as a false nine and clearly flourish in the role. This means that till Chelsea spend big money on their striker, they need to continue using Hazard as a false nine with Willian and Pedro on either side of the 27-year-old.
