I’ve used the headline “Hardly Inspiring” only a few days back. Otherwise that would have been the apt headline for this match reaction article. Two goals in a Drogba-less match. Though not very convincing, we got the job done. Shevchenko scored a crucial goal for himself, to have some self-belief for the matches to come.

‘We did not play well’ is my feeling. To be exact, we did not play as well as we should have. Of course, we had the possession, lion’s share of it. When Sunderland can almost match us in number of shots despite having little possession, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

chelsea_sunderland.PNGDespite this, Cudicini was hardly tested but on the other hand, I don’t think we tested Darren Ward. Certainly, it was a game that we controlled, where we were in the driver’s seat, dictating the proceedings on the pitch. With this kind of command and control on the happenings, we must have tormented Sunderland which we didn’t do. We did not take advantage of a poor opposition, that too playing at home. In fact, Roy Keane might be happy at the way they played and came out with just a 2-0 defeat.

It’s quite easy to believe that our defence was top class but the fact is Sunderland were way below standards. They could not string even three good passes together. Ball winning from them was not really difficult at all. Mostly they screwed up their own situations or it required minimum effort from our side to dislodge the ball from them. May be, we did not really want to strain ourselves for this match. May be, we just tried to do what exactly was required for three points and just preserved our energy and protected ourselves from injuries, ahead of the match at the ‘Emigrants’.

There were no outstanding performances from the Chelsea side. We did not appear to stretch ourselves too much. Mikel was very good, as always. Belletti does not seem to be the stop-gap right back that we bought until Dani Alves arrives here. Belletti plays with confidence and conviction, and has adapted so well to the pace and physicality of the English league. I was not impressed with Lampard and I thought he was a bit lethargic. I’m still waiting for the magic from Joe Cole, that he produced in the title winning seasons.

SWP should not start any more until there are very very strong reasons. He was a mess. But he was very committed and passionate. His crosses are so embarrassing for himself that I even hope that he doesn’t cross anymore. Only thing that keeps him going is his attitude and passion. End product-wise, he delivers peanuts.

Shevchenko scored a goal. I’m happy for him, especially because we won’t see Drogba for a few months. That was a finish that he could not have missed. Given his under-performance and subsequent criticisms, when he’s a metre away from the goal, completely unmarked, when a sweetly timed cross comes with a perfect trajectory, he just can’t miss. It was a good finish but it had to end in a goal, there was no other choice for him. In spite of scoring the goal, he did not quite impress me today. He was playing deep for a good part of the match. He was operating in the wings. He was not quite joining in the attacks. During set pieces, he was not doing things that a centre forward should be doing. May be, he was given a different kind of role.

The second goal was a gift. Certainly Alex’s shirt was tugged but that happens at every corner kick. I’m not trying to say that shirt pulling is fine but there should be some kind of consistency. Last season, I remember that Terry was often tightly hugged by the opposition defenders but that went unpunished. Anyway, good and bad decisions do get evened up over a period of time and I’m a strong believer in that.

Avram Grant is quite happy with the output:

I think we played very good football today and we moved the ball very well. We were patient. It wasn’t easy to play against Sunderland, they defend with a lot of players and they defend very well, they got in spaces and moved the ball. I think our possession in this game and the last two games is a record, almost 70 per cent. We moved the ball well. We deserved 3-0 at half-time because we controlled the game but Sunderland defended very well. I must say it was good work from the team.

Well, Alex Ferguson could have said this but didn’t. With the same 65% possession, his team had 25 shots against Derby, playing at Old Trafford. It’s not my idea to knock Avram Grant whatever he says. But it surely it is his idea to say things to get himself knocked off. For the records, we did not play good football today. If this is what he calls ‘good football’, then I’m Diego Maradona. By the way, it WAS easy to play Sunderland at the Stamford Bridge. If this is difficult, then let’s not go to Ashburton Grove next week.

Reading has beaten Liverpool 3-1 to put them in the fourth place. That’s made my weekend. If Arsenal drops points tomorrow, it would make this a wonderful weekend. We can send our second team to play Valencia mid-week while preparing for the high pressure match next Saturday.

Finally, a new feature in BlueChampions. I’ve started going around with a set of dozen questions, expecting answers from you guys (and gals). Well, the questions can be quite boring but your answers can make it up. Very soon, I’d be contacting you through your email. So, if you’re not a registered user already, please do get registered so that I’ll have your email ID. The responses from each one would be published as a separate post under the ‘Blumigos’ section, so that you can comment on their answers! The first edition starts off with dear Adonis, who has re-appeared in the blog. He answers some very straightforward questions and here it is! Go see what he has to say.