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Chelsea’s Loïc Rémy the hero after Charlie Adam wondergoal for Stoke City Chelsea’s Loïc Rémy the hero after Charlie Adam wondergoal for Stoke City
(about 2 hours later)
There had already been an air of inevitability to Chelsea’s pursuit of a first Premier League title in five years, but this latest success has served to reinforce that sense. Even goals plundered from inside their opponents’ half cannot stop José Mourinho’s side these days, Charlie Adam’s jaw-dropping conversion from 65 yards here rendered a mere footnote when it deserved a headline. If Chelsea’s pursuit of a first Premier League title in five years had already sported an air of inevitability, then this latest success has merely served to reinforce that sense. Even the ping of their top scorer’s hamstring or an equaliser conceded from well inside their opponents’ half cannot stop José Mourinho’s side for long these days, Charlie Adam’s jaw-dropping goal from around 65 yards rendered a mere footnote when it deserved to be a headline.
The leaders boast a seven-point advantage at the top and, even if that gap is trimmed early next week, will still have a game in hand on the trio of clubs closest to them after this round of fixtures. They are ticking off the games, grinding out wins even as players start to wilt at the workload they have taken on this term. The week ahead will determine the severity of the latest injury endured by Diego Costa with his involvement over the remainder of the campaign surely in doubt. The leaders boast a seven-point advantage at the top and, even if that gap is trimmed to six by Manchester City on Monday night, they will still benefit from a game in hand on the trio of clubs closest to them in a distant chasing pack. Chelsea are ticking off the games, grinding out wins despite key players starting to wilt at the workload they have taken on this term. Five more victories and a draw will see them home even if medical checks over the week ahead will determine how much of a part Diego Costa plays in those fixtures.
This had been billed as an opportunity, a chance for Chelsea to edge further clear of the chasing pack with Manchester City’s fading title defence suspended until Monday’s awkward trip to Crystal Palace. Chelsea’s initial urgency reflected as much, Loïc Rémy all fluid movement at the tip of their team and he tested Asmir Begovic twice in the opening quarter as Diego Costa watched on from the substitutes’ bench. The leaders’ top scorer had initially been rested with the hamstring damaged just prior to the international window repaired but his mind apparently still fragile in fear of another twinge or tweak. A player initially rested here ended up lasting only 12 minutes having been introduced at the break with this arena still digesting Adam’s ridiculous equaliser. Mourinho confirmed the forward faces at least two weeks on the sidelines though, in reality, that initial diagnosis may prove optimistic. His absence will be felt, particularly given there are collisions with Manchester United and Arsenal to come after next Sunday’s west London derby at Loftus Road, even if his stand-in, Loïc Rémy, has now scored the winner in successive games.
In truth, the hosts could have done with his brawn once their early whirlwind failed to prise Stoke apart. Too often their approach play ran aground on rugged defence, the intricate passing moves too elaborate for their own good and chances choked amid the clutter in the area. Frustration was setting in,anxiety transmitting from stands to pitch, when the visitors obligingly self-destructed with the interval in sight. Eden Hazard’s backheel and Willian’s slide-rule pass liberated Cesc Fàbregas, with Philipp Wollscheid sliding in as the Spaniard dragged the ball back with his instep. The penalty was not disputed and Hazard scored with ease. The Frenchman’s decisive goal here was a gift from the otherwise excellent Asmir Begovic, the goalkeeper rolling the ball towards Steven Nzonzi only for Willian to intercept. Eden Hazard, at his inspirational best throughout, dribbled into the area and squared for the striker to score into an empty net, with the relief around this arena palpable. Forget mind-boggling attempts from distance: this team will be more than happy to stroll over the finish line with a series of opposition aberrations and tap-ins.
That should have been the prelude for an all-out onslaught before half-time, yet Chelsea’s rhythm was quickly interrupted by Adam’s tussle with Fàbregas – the Stoke player’s right arm connected clumsily with the bridge of his opponent’s nose to leave him bloodied – and concentration duly wavered, even if the manner in which City restored parity was still remarkable. The home side had been on the attack down their left, Simon Ireland eventually bringing the ball away and finding Adam. The Scot ambled forward to the edge of the centre-circle, still inside his own half, before spying Thibaut Courtois off his line and pummelling a shot at goal from 65 yards. Stoke’s own reward here had been spectacular, a goal to eclipse that of David Beckham in 1996 in terms of its audacious quality even if it lacked the player’s superstar-in-the-making looks. The visitors had been defending just before the interval when Stephen Ireland intercepted and fed Adam, the Scot meandering to the edge of the centre-circle inside his own half before pummelling a shot so optimistic it initially felt like a clearance into touch to grant his team-mates a breather. Yet the shot arced wickedly, a panicked Thibaut Courtois only able to paw at it with his left hand as he back-tracked and the ball veered into the net.
The arena gasped in incredulity as the effort arced towards goal, the scrambling Belgian reaching it with his left hand but unable to paw it away. Adam has attempted such ridiculous attempts often in the past, Jamie Carragher taking to social media to recall at least “three times every game” during the Scot’s brief spell with Liverpool, with this the exception that came off. “About bloody time,” added the former England defender, with Chelsea left dazed by the ludicrousness of it all, not least because everything Adam had previously tried here had fallen horribly flat. Mark Hughes described the midfielder’s 50th career goal as “outrageous”. Mourinho, while piqued by a foul on Hazard in the build-up, elaborated. “I didn’t enjoy it, but it was a goal every top player in the world would love to score,” he said. “From Diego Maradona to Lionel Messi, all these brilliant players … some of them did it, but not all of them. He can. It’s a fantastic goal, but we made a mistake. It’s a clear foul on Hazard, but we cannot stop waiting for the referee to give it. We have to react, press the ball, close the space. The goalkeeper also has to anticipate what can happen behind him, but it’s a goal for his history, probably the best goal for the season in the Premier League. It’s a pity it doesn’t give him any points.”
Mourinho’s response was to summon Costa from the periphery only for the hosts’ sense of shock to deepen when the Spain international pulled up within 11 minutes clutching the back of his left thigh. The hamstring issues which have plagued him all season may now have wrecked his run-in, the striker cutting a forlorn figure as he trudged head bowed around the touchline and down the tunnel biting the collar of his shirt. In the end the only real ramifications were felt by Costa, who had been flung on as a direct result and in pursuit of parity. Chelsea had laboured at times without him in that first period, Begovic denying them reward from an urgent opening and Stoke rugged and organised until self-destructing with half-time in sight. Hazard’s backheel and Willian’s slide-rule pass liberated Cesc Fàbregas, with Philipp Wollscheid sliding in as the Spaniard dragged the ball back with his instep. The penalty was not disputed and was dispatched with ease by Hazard.
Yet, if the onus will be on others to score the goals to see this team over the line, then there was an instant response. Stoke’s second concession was another of their own making, Begovic ruining his own display – he had summoned fine saves from Hazard and Willian while Costa was still on the turf – by under-arming the ball weakly towards Steven Nzonzi for Willian to intercept. Hazard scuttled into the area and squared for Rémy, scorer of the winner at Hull just before the break, to tap into the gaping net. If Adam’s goal had been glorious, this was horribly sloppy with all City’s industry undermined. The Belgian was inspirational, a constant menace demanding the ball and tearing at his markers. He should have supplied Juan Cuadrado with a third before the end only for the Colombian, offered a rare cameo, to strike Begovic with a point-blank shot and then with the rebound when it appeared easier to score. Mourinho had slumped across the advertising hoarding in frustration at those misses, his nerves frayed further when Nzonzi struck a post, though it mattered not.
Nzonzi struck the post from distance, though the better chances remained all Chelsea’s. Quite how the substitute Juan Cuadrado, who had replaced Rémy in the immediate aftermath of the Frenchman’s goal, contrived to strike Begovic with a point-blank shot from Hazard’s cut-back, and then the rebound that followed, was mystifying with Mourinho slumping across the advertising hoarding in his exasperation. Ultimately, like Adam’s reward, it did not count against the champions-elect. “A victory is a victory,” he added. “I sent [Aitor] Karanka an SMS yesterday after Middlesbrough won 1-0 and told him 1-0 in April is like 10-0 in November. Our countdown is only about us. At lunchtime, we needed six victories and one draw. At dinnertime, five victories and one draw.”