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Most Chelsea fans probably expected Chelsea to come out guns blazing, put the hammer to the worst team in the league from the opening minute, and then put it in cruise control for an easy victory. The Blues decided to get their nap in before dropping the hammer instead, but the result was still just about what most fans would have expected.
The first half was mostly awful, and the Chelsea group that took the pitch looked tired and out of sync. Sloppy touches, poor passing in the final third, and some very questionable decisions on when to take a shot led to a fairly dull 0-0 scoreline when the Blues walked off the pitch.
Jose Mourinho didn't make any personnel changes after the break, though I'm sure he had some not-so-nice things to say to the eleven player on the pitch at halftime. Whatever he said seemed to wake up Eden Hazard and Andre Schurrle, who combined to open the scoring six minutes into the second half. Ten minutes later, the pair combined to make it 2-0, effectively ending this contest. Schurrle wasn't done yet, as he'd pounce on a beautifully won ball from Fernando Torres to complete his first Chelsea hat trick.
Chelsea decided to go to sleep on a corner, allowing Fulham a consolation prize with about 20 minutes to go. Subs were made, time wound down, and Chelsea remain top of the table.
Thoughts:
- I wish the Premier League would look closely at the Brede Hangeland head injury that eventually forced him off, and consider a rule change allowing managers to get these guys off without using one of their three substitutions.
- LolArsenal
- What happened to those days where Chelsea's attackers managed to control the ball with their first touch, allowing them to move it along quickly? Today was sloppy.
- This may well have been the last West London Derby in the Premier League for quite a while. I really struggle to see how this Fulham side are going to manage to survive sitting on just 21 points with 10 games to go.
- LolArsenal
- It's fun to see Schurrle making striker runs like he did for the second Chelsea goal. It's probably more fun because our starting striker spent most of the afternoon not making those runs.
- Jose might want to spend the week focused on set piece defending, as we've looked sloppy far too often of late.
- LolArsenal
- I do wish Mourinho would have made it a point to get Hazard off as soon as Chelsea scored their second. The guy just can't continue to play every minute of every match and remain effective.
