Chelsea Need To Cut Down On Their Theatrics – 3 Talking Poings From Chelsea 2-0 West Ham

Chelsea maintained their three point lead at the summit of the Premier League thanks to goals from John Terry and Diego Costa as they beat West Ham 2-0. The home side dominated the early exchanges and were knocking on the door before Terry headed home the opener from a corner on the 31st minute.

Although the home side continued to exert pressure in attack, the Hammers held on for the rest of the half. The visitors started brightly in the second half, before Costa scored on the hour mark to seal all three points for the Blues. Although Morgan Amalfitano hit the post and the Hammers finished the game on a high, they were unable to conjure a consolation as they suffered their first defeat in six games.

Here are the major talking points from the game.

1. Chelsea need to cut down on their theatrics

Movies are a dime a dozen. But great movies aren’t. So the last thing you would want when you watch a great movie is for it to be spoilt by a cameo appearance by someone who didn’t do their part right. That is precisely the current situation at Chelsea and their penchant for theatrics. While there isn’t any doubt that the Blues are the best team in the land, are the most entertaining to watch and arguably the most ruthless team in country, one aspect of their play sticks out like a bad cameo.

The side’s penchant for the diving has stuck out like a sore  thumb in the last few weeks and it’s high time it is rectified before it taints the beautiful football that they play. The Blues are one of the biggest and strongest sides in the League, but some of their players aren’t doing the fans any favors by diving when they don’t need to. Last week it was Gary Cahill’s “swan dive”, against West Ham, it was Branislav Ivanovic. Two, big strong centre halves going down as though they have been shot doesn’t send out the right message and Jose Mourinho has to do something about it soon.

2. Hazard starting to make his way to the top

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are currently in a world of their own. Although both had differently disappointing year in 2014, both scored over 50 goals and recorded more than 15 assists in the calendar year. While Eden Hazard still has quite some way to go before he reaches that level, it is far to say that it won’t be long before  he does.

Anyone who saw his performance against West Ham will testify towards how the Belgian played the entire game with the ball seemingly stuck to his feet. And on the off occasion that it wasn’t, it was gone in a flash, just like him. There are few footballers in England, who have the capacity to mesmerize and bedazzle a generation that has seen the rabonas, the step-overs, the Cryuff turns a ton of times on vines and Youtube. Hazard is one of those few and although he didn’t score against the Hammers, he left them dazed and confused.

3. Can anybody catch Chelsea?

Thanks to their participation in the Champions League and the League Cup, the Blues have so far played 27 games this season. The number of games, they have lost, just ONE.  When they failed to muster a win from their two trips to the North East, many said that was a sign that they are not unbeatable. While that is true, the longer they continue, the more it seems as though, that is merely a blip.

Although Manchester City are just  three points behind and Chelsea have two tricky away games against Southampton and Tottenham in the next few days, such is their strength in depth that is unlikely to see beyond them for both games. The last three times Chelsea were top at Christmas, they won the title. Barring the odd blip or two, it looks as though this time has the wherewithal to make it four out of four and make it eight League titles for Mourinho in the last 13 seasons.