Neil Humphreys: Chelsea on relentless march towards a treble
Blues' winning formula is team ethics revolving around allegiance to Mourinho
Put Chelsea down for a Treble.
The type of silverware might make for an entertaining discussion, but Jose Mourinho’s men are good for at least three trophies.
The Champions League presents the most intimidating obstacle and no English club have collected a Quadruple before, but logic dictates that a Treble is there for the taking.
To adapt a popular chant for prolific strikers, they are Chelsea. They win when they want.
The Blues carry each other. They believe in the cause. Their allegiance to Mourinho is absolute.
When Fabregas scuffed in Chelsea’s second goal in the 2-0 win over Stoke on Monday, Mourinho purposefully marched towards substitute Andre Schuerrle and gave him a bear hug.
The joy on the German’s face was as obvious as it was genuine. The World Cup winner has been reduced to 10-minute cameos at Chelsea, but accepts he’s a part of something bigger, something potentially unique.
Mourinho is quietly navigating his explorers towards an unprecedented trophy haul.
It’s not a time for giving at Chelsea. They’ll take whatever they want this season.
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STOKE CITY 0
CHELSEA 2
(John Terry 2, Cesc Fabregas 78)
Put Chelsea down for a Treble.
The type of silverware might make for an entertaining discussion, but Jose Mourinho's men are good for at least three trophies.
The Champions League presents the most intimidating obstacle and no English club have collected a Quadruple before, but logic dictates that a Treble is there for the taking.
To adapt a popular chant for prolific strikers, they are Chelsea. They win when they want.
This time last year, Mourinho ran out of patience with his experimentation and returned to basics and reiterated his firm belief that 1-0 victories are easy.
Only the scoreline was different at Stoke yesterday morning (Singapore time).
But the 2-0 stroll was just as significant as some of Chelsea's more eye-catching scalps this season.
The Potters presented a real banana skin in howling winds. In a city renowned for its pottery industry, the Britannia Stadium is famed for turning feet to clay.
And they certainly tried.
Eden Hazard was mercilessly targeted, hunted down with a lack of compassion not seen since they shot Bambia's mother.
Stoke's hatchet men were somewhere between ruthless and repugnant in their pursuit of the impish Belgian.Phil Bardsley's studs-up, knee-high lunge was a disgrace, earning a yellow that should've been red. Jonathan Walters raked his boot along the back of Hazard's Achilles late in the game.The Belgian eventually limped off down the tunnel.
NO SURRENDER
But no white flags were waved. Chelsea didn't surrender.
Arsenal went to Stoke a couple of weeks ago and the home side ruled the Britannia. But Mourinho's men are an entirely different proposition.
Hazard danced all night long and cultivated enough space in the dying minutes to orchestrate a decisive second for Cesc Fabregas.
John Terry had laid down the mission statement inside two minutes, out-jumping most of the Stoke team to thump in a header.
By the final whistle, he was slapping his chest and fist-pumping the fans.
This was some mission statement.
Chelsea do not shrink or hide. While the pretenders to the Premier League throne gnaw on their fingernails at the Britannia, the Blues bring out the knuckle-dusters.
They bring out Nemanja Matic.
He was the signing of last season. Barring injury or a dramatic loss of form, he's going to be the player of this season.
The Serbian strongman lives for the proverbial wintry nights in Stoke. He revels in the battle. Like a Game of Thrones warrior, he relishes cold, foreboding trips to the north.
And he always defends that Chelsea wall.
In Matic, Stoke met their match, a man with a similarly uncompromising temperament, but a superior skillset. He's a middleweight boxer with the grace of a ballerina.
In the 75th minute, he arrived in his own penalty box, shoulders squared, chest out, to sweep up a rare Stoke attack, reading the play perfectly, snuffing out danger effortlessly and earning not so much a cheer as a gasp from the Chelsea faithful.
Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and even Manchester City can only look on and admire the one who got away.
It's no coincidence that Stoke's Bojan Krkic sighted goal for the first time in the 97th minute. He had spent the previous 96 failing to wriggle free from Matic's pocket.
Likewise, Steven N'Zonzi was warned for tangling with the Serbian at set-pieces. Frustration overwhelmed the Stoke midfielder. Set-pieces were the only time N'Zonzi got close to Matic.
The Blues took the hostile atmosphere and the home side's bruisers, balled them up like a banana skin and lobbed the lot over their shoulder.
There was never going to be a slip at the Britannia Stadium.Mourinho has forged something really special within his dressing room; a united, committed, voracious camp of fearless athletes who yield to no one.Thibaut Courtois denied N'Zonzi brilliantly, the defensive triangle of Terry, Gary Cahill and Matic seems unbreakable and the front three are interchangeable. Diego Costa could even afford an off-night. It didn't matter.
The Blues carry each other. They believe in the cause. Their allegiance to Mourinho is absolute.
When Fabregas scuffed in Chelsea's second, Mourinho purposefully marched towards substitute Andre Schuerrle and gave him a bear hug.
The joy on the German's face was as obvious as it was genuine. The World Cup winner has been reduced to 10-minute cameos at Chelsea, but accepts he's a part of something bigger, something potentially unique.
Mourinho is quietly navigating his explorers towards an unprecedented trophy haul.
It's not a time for giving at Chelsea. They'll take whatever they want this season.
From troubled to Terry-fic
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was full of praise for John Terry after the skipper's early goal helped the Blues secure a 2-0 win at Stoke yesterday morning (Singapore time) and the Premier League Christmas No. 1 spot.
Terry headed past Asmir Begovic in the second minute from a corner delivered by Cesc Fabregas, who later wrapped up the victory by netting himself with a scuffed 78th-minute effort.
And Mourinho feels his 34-year-old captain - a centre back now to have scored in 15 successive top-flight seasons - is playing as well as he was during his first spell as Chelsea manager.
"When he is on the pitch, he is always a threat," the Portuguese said of ex-England man Terry.
"But more important for me than the goal is the way he is playing this season, again.
"When I came here (in the summer of 2013), he was a bit in trouble, his career was a bit up and down and he was not playing regularly for Chelsea.
"But he has played basically every game and, for me, at the same level as from 2004-2007 when I was here.
"I think he adapts well to our training methodology - it's a good way for a person with his body type to feel sharp and fast and in good condition. After that, it's happiness.
"When you're happy and confident, it's easier in any job."
The win means Chelsea will spend Christmas three points clear of second-placed Manchester City.
The Stoke fixture had looked a tricky prospect and got feisty at times but, overall, the visitors controlled proceedings admirably.
They coped well when Stoke got physical, and although Mourinho suggested one rash-looking challenge on Blues playmaker Eden Hazard by Phil Bardsley - which earned the Potters defender a booking - merited a red card, he stressed that overall he had regarded the game as "aggressive" but "fair".
He said the victory meant "more than just the three points, because to win here, you need to show more than just your quality".
The only worry for Mourinho was Hazard having to be substituted late on due to what looked like an ankle injury, and it remains to be seen if the Belgium international will be fit to face West Ham on Boxing Day.
Meanwhile, Stoke boss Mark Hughes, said of match: "It was the worst possible start for us, but credit to us - I thought we stuck at it and kept probing.
"It was difficult, because Chelsea were happy to protect the initial lead - they are quite able to take the sting out of games, which comes from experience." - PA Sport.
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