After the traumas of the past week, the
mood of Rafa Benitez was difficult to predict last night. Some looked
for remorse and regret, others anticipated dignified defiance.
But nobody was prepared for the sight of
Chelsea's interim manager tap-dancing through a stream of leading
questions with a wide smile and a twinkle in his eye.
'I am really pleased with the way the
fans got behind the team … the players are confident, they're playing
very good football … the game was fantastic … everybody was happy … I'm
trying to enjoy today.'
Best Ba none: Chelsea had January signing Demba Ba for their early lead against West Brom
MATCH FACTS
CHELSEA: Cech; Ivanovic, Cole, David Luiz, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Lampard, Mata (Mikel 90), Oscar, Hazard (Moses 80); Ba (Torres 87) Subs not used: Turnbull, Cahill, Terry, Bertrand, Mikel.
Booked: Hazard
Goals: Ba 28
WEST BROM:
Foster; Reid, Olsson, Ridgewell, McAuley, Yacob (Rosenberg 82);
Morrison, Dorrans (Thomas 71), Mulumbu, Long, Fortune (Odemwingie 62). Subs not used: Myhill, Jones, Tamas, Brown.
Booked: McAuley, Odemwingie
The more pointed the question, the more
bland was his answer. I doubt that he knows too much about cricket, yet
he has perfected the patient art of playing the ball back to the
bowler.
So assured was his performance that we
could almost persuade ourselves that we had not heard the chants which
blared out inside the first four minutes: 'F*** off, Benitez. We'll sing
what we want.'
And the drone of 'Jo -say! Jo -say!' the Shed's homage to the poseur over the water.
And since we never heard those insults,
then we could not have seen the placards, few in number but crude in
tone: 'Not Wanted, Never Wanted, RAFA Out' and 'The Interim One', along
with the cliché of the mock-up P45.
Clumsy efforts all, apparently created by the same, unsteady hand.
Benitez treated them all with the same mocking disdain.
Pouncing: The Senegal striker slotted home from close range despite Shane Long's best efforts
He had said his piece up at
Middlesbrough, now he wanted to move on; whatever the fans or the media
might feel. And nothing would deflect him from his strategy.
In truth, Rafa was almost the only
person at Stamford Bridge who appeared fully immersed in the match.
Chelsea were rather better than adequate.
Some of their approach play was swiftly
resourceful, while talents such as Oscar and Juan Mata offered more than
their share of beguiling moments.
When they performed at pace, particularly in the first half, it was easy to see what a formidable side they may become.
Albion, by contrast, were disappointing; a level or so below their real capabilities.
Had Ben Foster not delivered a master
class in goal - offering a host of new reasons why the England manager,
Roy Hodgson, will take renewed notice - then the beating might have been
quite severe.
Feeling the heat: Rafael Benitez had to content with chants and banner abuse from the fans
BENITEZ WATCH
RECEPTION Sticky-back
plastic, permanent markers and cardboard were in evidence, but this was
no episode of Blue Peter: 'The Interim One' and 'Rafa Benitez we're
just not that inter im'.
The boss quietly took his seat as West
Brom's Steve Clarke was introduced to warm applause before the now
normal expletive-laden chants were directed towards the Spaniard.
ATMOSPHERE The
homage to former boss Roberto Di Matteo was observed after 16 minutes,
but there was also plenty of encouragement for the Blues players,
meaning perhaps Benitez's comments had been heeded to some extent.
There were chants for captain John
Terry, Frank Lampard and Jose Mourinho, who has been linked with a
return this summer. Benitez was booed every time he touched the ball in
his technical area and rose to his feet when fans sang 'Stand up if you
hate Rafa'.
TACTICS AND SELECTION Demba
Ba justified his inclusion ahead of the misfiring Fernando Torres with a
first-half poacher's goal, but the build-up play around him was a
little too intricate, with Oscar, Juan Mata and Eden Hazard all
culpable, the Brazilian missing numerous chances.
RESULT There
is recent precedent for a change of Blues manager following losses to
West Brom, with losses to the Baggies the final Premier League matches
for Andre Villas-Boas and Roberto Di Matteo. Benitez greeted a fifth win
in seven with a double clenched fist salute.
He announced himself after four minutes,
when he responded with dramatic urgency to Oscar's firm touch on a
cross; setting out his intentions in spectacular fashion.
Two minutes later, Steve Reid struck a
violent free-kick and saw it tipped aside by Petr Cech, more evidence
that goals might be hard to come by.
In 16 minutes, the home crowd launched into their own selfconscious tribute to the departed Roberto Di Matteo.
Benitez appeared not to notice, which must have been infuriating.
Chelsea had taken a degree of command
with their thoughtful inventions, and in 27 minutes Foster was required
to make another fine save when a Luiz freekick was deflected.
From the corner, Frank Lampard and Oscar
swapped passes, Oscar lifted an incisive ball to the far post, from
where the ebullient Luiz headed it back and Demba Ba bundled it in.
Briefly, Benitez was forgotten as the crowd celebrated the important break.
But normal service was depressingly resumed when he fielded a loose ball and the jeers erupted with bovine predictability.
Important blocks from Jonas Olsson and
Liam Ridgewell prevented further misfortune for Albion, but the pattern
had been set and already the match was Chelsea's to lose.
They might have had a penalty on the
hour, when Olsson appeared to nudge Eden Hazard but the Chelsea man went
down too readily and the claim was ignored.
The arrival of Peter Odemwingie - who
is, in some curious fashion, a legend in West London - introduced more
attacking possibilities for Albion. But his most hostile effort came in
the form of a free-kick eight minutes from time, wonderfully saved by
Cech.
Eyes on the prize: So comfortable were Chelsea in the first half, that Oscar was able to try the spectacular
All this time, Chelsea captain John Terry remained on the bench, utterly ignored by his manager.
He has apparently made his displeasure known a time or two, but Benitez remains impervious to his pressure.
Indeed, a cynic might suggest Rafa was
making his point when he called Terry to warm up with three minutes
remaining. And then decided against bringing him on.
Later, he was at pains to deny any
disapproval of Terry, but his explanation lacked real conviction:
'Normally we have seven players on the bench. He was very much
available, but you have to manage the team,' he smiled, like a man who
did not expect to be believed.
Few and far between: West Brom had
littel to shout about, though goalkeeper Ben Foster did try something
special in the closing minutes, while Petr Cech was forced into one
uncomfortable save in the first half
The chants he endured through to the end, but they too lacked conviction.
For, in the course of his brief tenure at Stamford Bridge, this was one of the better days that the Chelsea manager has known.
When it was over, one observer put it
neatly into perspective: 'Interim, interim, they've all got it in fer
'im,' he remarked. It was an elegant line.
Had he heard it, Rafa Benitez would have smiled again.
No comments:
Post a Comment