Very good win at home that I didn’t get to see. The match wasn’t televised in India because of the F1 and the cricket that were also going on. That was quite frustrating. I can understand Football being second to Cricket on TV but F1? Streams weren’t any good and I ended up resorting to poor old BBC live commentary. And then finally, some videos from 101 great goals. So, this is not a proper match reaction article. This will be a bit short and plain, all right?

Mixed feelings, really. Very happy with the way we are playing. Nice and fluent football with an end product. We’re getting the goals. Torres is back in form. To be honest, the day and the result was marred by the fact that Torres for got sent off and that he won’t be available for the next three league games. Plus, we once again conceded a nothing goal.


Villas Boas’ team selection: He’s got balls! For a home game, he’s dropped a fit and healthy Lampard and put him on the bench. This move has not only helped the performance of the team but also sends out a clear message that Andre Villas Boas can walk his talk. Super stuff.

Fernando Torres’ goal: Wow! The 50m man is turning out to be a regular entry into the GOOD section. What a well taken goal! See, that ball from Mata is what he wants and that’s the kind of chemistry that was non-existent for him at Chelsea before. And that ball control and finish shows two things (a) the miss against manure hasn’t affected him (b) his confidence is back. Man, the goal was such a pleasure to watch.

Didier Drogba’s come back: Just when we were worried about Torres’ absence, Didier Drogba comes back and scored a brilliant goal. Talk about timing. Such a relief that we would still have a top striker leading our attack despite Torres not being there.

Ramires’ goals: The silent killer. Along with Mata and Torres, Ramires has also had a great start to this season. He’s bit iffy in defending but what a player to have during counterattacks. His second goal was a peach. With Ramires, Mikel and Meireles playing this way, Lampard’s gonna find it hard to get back into the premier league playing eleven.


Torres’ red card: When Fernando Torres scored the opening goal of the match, I thought this was going to be a great day for El Nino. He has been in fine form and you knew that he’s gonna score against Swansea. We he did, in style, but such is his fortune, something else had to happen. His definite return to form and good work had to be undone by something so untimely and unfortunate. I back him to come back from this too.

Is that a red card? I’d say no. Yes it was a two footed lunge. But let’s keep in mind that it was a clumsy one than a malicious one. With that being such a awkward and clumsy lunge, there was no way he was going to cause harm to the player than just blocking him. At worst, it was a yellow card plus some strong words from the ref. There’s still no news of Chelsea appealing against the red card. Good thing is, he should be back for the Arsenal game at Stamford Bridge.

No clean sheet: Why? Why do we concede such soft goals through easy headers? What’s with our defence? While we are getting stronger and stronger in attack, something’s wrong with our defence. What Lampard was to our midfield, Terry is to our defence – Chelsea legend with his best behind him. Terry’s position is safer as he’s the captain of the team and he brings to the table, more than just the centre back duties. But we need to sort this out quickly.


If Torres had played all 90 minutes, he might have been. Due to credit to him to score that all important first goal which made it more comfortable for us. But the man who sealed the game for us was Ramires. Fully deserves the man of the match award.


It was a mixed day but what should stay in our minds is that it’s great result at home and Drogba is back in action. Our impressive run this season continued after the fine win against Bayer Leverkusen. A game where Josh McEachran and Oriol Romeu showed why Lampard’s hopes of getting back into the playing eleven could be slimmer. Suddenly, the squad looks stronger and deeper. I’m only waiting for Lukaku to click properly and we’ll be ready for anything.

Meanwhile, Man Utd dropped points at the Brittania stadium. It was a great game to watch. I don’t want to take anything away from a superb Stoke performance but this is Man Utd without Rooney. Keep in mind that Rooney is out for a ‘few weeks’.

Next week, we travel to the Mestalla. Expect Fernando Torres to start and score unless Boas wants Drogba to get some match time before he starts the premier league game next weekend. By the way, this is a big week in football gaming. Both PES 2012 and FIFA 12 are releasing this week. Have pre-ordered both. Excited!