Confidence is high at Chelsea following Saturday's comeback win over Southampton. Stand-in captain Branislav Ivanovic scored the winner just as the clock was about to strike midnight, but he was quick to play down individual glory and play up the team spirit like a good captain should.
"I didn't actually see the ball go into the net but it is fantastic, a great feeling. I think these goals are not important for the individual but they are important for us and we work as a team."
Ivanovic has started the last few games at center back after spending most of his Chelsea career as a right back. His versatility is one of the reasons he's been indispensable to the club over the years, but he's now also one of the few veteran leaders on the team and could very well be the club captain next season after Terry leaves. He will have to work hard to ensure the defense remains organized and concentration levels remain high at all times.
"It was a very difficult game, I think the hardest game away for us this season. We had to work really, really hard for these three points. We controlled the game but Southampton were very difficult to defend against because they played very well in counter-attack, but we scored our goals and I think we deserved these big three points."
"Every time when we relax even for a few seconds we lose points so we have to go step by step. We have in three days another game and we have to be very careful because it is another away game against a difficult opponent, but we will be focused and we will try to take everything we can from this season."
-Branislav Ivanovic; source: Chelsea FC
Chelsea have not lost at Carrow Road since 1994 and Norwich City have won just one game in 2016 so far, but anything can happen in the Premier League. A win on Tuesday could move Chelsea as high as 8th, which would keep hope alive of European qualification — and if Manchester City beat Liverpool today in the Capital One Cup final, even the 6th place finishers would be guaranteed a qualifying spot in the Europa League.