Chelsea Stays Strong

            Today, another Premier League matchup entertained many, and gives insight to the title race. It was Chelsea against Stoke City, and despite Chelsea sitting comfortably at the top of the table and Stoke much further below, the game was by no means a blowout. Chelsea opened up the game and was moving steadily against their opponents, taking the lead towards halftime. Then, just before the break, an amazing 59 meter strike by Charlie Adam put Stoke back in the game. The hope didn’t last, however, and Chelsea was able to put another one away at 60 minutes, and the game was pretty well over. Although the final score was fairly close, Chelsea were in no way at their best, and really only matched Stoke to secure the win. They played the way they needed to, which seemed to work out for the team in the end. A large part of Chelsea’s success is due to Eden Hazard who took part in both goals for the team. Hazard was a game changer for Chelsea and will no doubt play a large role in their title run. On the negative side, an injury for Diego Costa is news that no Chelsea fan wants to hear. Coming on the field for 10 minutes before being forced off, Costa looks to be out of club play for a little while to come. Costa was brought on the team to increase the creativity in the attacking third that they lacked, and it will continue to be a problem with him sitting out. With this being such a crucial time in the season, Costa’s injury may prove to be vital (or detrimental, rather) to Chelsea’s season end.

            On the Stoke side, things were much different, but not necessarily bad. For one, they were able to hold the leaders of the league to a 2-1 loss. Also, Adam’s goal goes to show for their perseverance when the game looks bad. Chelsea had just scored and were at full speed, and Adam had the vision to see Courtois off his line and to drop one in at such a distance. While they weren’t able to defeat Chelsea, they put up a fight and held them off from scoring more. Even though Chelsea were not at their finest, Stoke was able to make a good game out of it. While Stoke City is never near the top of the Premier League, they return year after year and remain fairly successful, and this game was a good showing of that ability.