Match Report: Norwich 0-0 Chelsea (Chelsea Fan’s Perspective)
Jan 21, 2012 at 6:47 pm in Chelsea, England, English Premier League, Norwich City by James Paul
Chelsea fans surely expected new signing Gary Cahill to at least merit a spot on the bench for the match at a rain-pelted Carrow Road. They were left surprised, however, as the England International didn’t even make the list of substitutes. Branislav Ivanovic, fresh back from injury, took the spot instead due to his “versatility”, according to Andres Villas Boas. Cahill hasn’t integrated into the club yet, but surely will enter the team after Chelsea travels to Mallorca for a squad building exercise. AVB selected a 4-3-3 with Cech, Bosingwa, Luiz, Terry, A.Cole, Ramires, Meireles, Lampard, Sturridge, Torres, Mata and a bench of Turnbull, Ivanovic, Bertrand, Oriol, Essien, Malouda and Lukaku.
Paul Lambert went defensive minded in the middle with Bradley Johnson and David Fox getting the start, Wesley Hoolahan on the bench. Full team (4-4-2) of Ruddy, Naughton, Ayala, Whitbread, R Martin, Surman, Pilkington, Fox, Johnson, Morison, Holt and substitutes Crofts, Drury, Wilbraham, Hoolahan, Bennet, Steer and Jackson.
Chelsea started brightly, but Norwich’s quick counters kept Chelsea on watch at the back. At six minutes, Anthony Pilkington, on one of the quick moving Canary counters, had a solid go, but Petr Cech stopped the bad-angled shot. The Canaries’ showed great ability to quickly weave up the pitch after a turnover, catching the visitors by surprise. Steve Morison followed suit four minutes later and his pass to Grant Holt exposed a confused David Luiz, but Holt fired just wide, though Cech had it covered.
Even when the intensity of the rain increased after 20 minutes, the fantastic pace of the match didn’t slow. Juan Mata was easily the best Blues player on the pitch in the first half, but he clearly tired as the game moved on. He hit Daniel Sturridge with a great pass at in the 25th, but the striker’s lack of recent play showed in his wayward touch.
Chelsea displayed their own quick counter at the half-hour, Frank Lampard passing a great ball up to Ramires, who fed Torres. The Spaniard was a little slow in trying to side-foot John Ruddy, though. While Torres had a great initial touch, it lacked pace and was pushed away by Ruddy. Not long after that, Lampard was forced off the pitch with an apparent torn calf. Florent Malouda came on as his replacement.
Their best chance came right at the end of the half, Mata shooting with his wrong foot in the box but his effort was well over top of the goal. Torres followed shortly thereafter with a great cross for Malouda that was impressively blocked by Pilkington, just when Lampard’s replacement thought he was alone to strike. While the Blues upped the tempo in the last ten minutes of the first half, they couldn’t find a way around the Norwich back four. They had some chances, but none were clear cut.
Official Mark Clattenburg was barely noticeable during the match, which was a good thing. In fact, the entire first half did not feature a foul, also a credit to the teams. With the fast pace, it appeared as though the Blues would eventually wear down the promoted side as the second half started as the rain gave way to sunshine as the first 45 ended.
The second half saw the run without a foul end only two minutes in, Steve Morison fouling the ineffective Raul Meireles. Meireles seemed to have escaped a handball in his own box shortly after the hour mark, but Clattenburg shook off the appeal.
The frustrating show that is Fernando Torres ended 15 minutes from time, seldom used Romelu Lukaku coming on. The Belgian made an immediate impact, pushing forward with great strength, hard to get off of the ball. Still, Norwich kept Chelsea from the danger area. Even the substitution of Michael Essien for Raul Meireles didn’t pay dividends.
Mata had another great run with ten minutes left as Chelsea poured on the attack, but he hit the post.
The full-time whistle blew with Chelsea simply unable to find a way through and not deserving of the three points despite being the better side. As the season has shown, if the chances can’t be converted, a victory isn’t deserved. In the end, Chelsea ran out of gas, as it’s evident some of the team’s better players require some rest. Norwich deserve full credit though, as their impressive season continues. Paul Lambert’s team also achieved their first clean sheet of the season
Man of the Match for Norwich: Anthony Pilkington. A major factor moving forward but also getting back, Pilkington likely saved a goal, and almost created two others.
Man of the Match for Chelsea: Juan Mata. Noticeably tired as the match came to a close, Mata came close to netting the winner that Chelsea desperately tried for.
