No surprises at Stamford Bridge this weekend as the Blues score four against a struggling Norwich and maintain their lead at the top of the table and move four points clear of the second placed team.

Match Facts :

Report and Tactical analysis : 

This was Chelsea’s starting line-Up for the game

Chelsea began the game in a good and confident mood after a very good start to the season. They should have been ahead in less than four minutes when Torres beat the offside trap and was one-on-one with their keeper. Considering his good start to the season, one would have expeced him to score or at least hit a shot on target but Torres tried to repeat the goal he scored in Camp Nou last season in the Semi Finals of the Champions League by going round the keeper. Ruddy smartly stood his ground and did not charge and it was too late as the defenders recovered well.

It was a let off for Norwich and to everyone’s surprise, they took the lead on 11 minutes when Wes Hoolahan chipped a cross to the far post where Leon Barnett nodded the ball down for Holt to drive in a shot from just inside the area for his second league goal of the season.

Chelsea’s Equalizer

It was a wake up call for Chelsea as they replied immediately and it was that same man – Torres. Ivanovich’s cross found Torres’s head and the scores were level.

Then it was only a matter of time for the Blues to take the lead and it rightfully arrived on 22 minutes when veteran Frank Lampard found the net in a vintage fashion after Torres’s overhead kick was deflected to him.

Lampard’s goal

As you can see above, torres’s overhead shot was deflected and managed to land on Lampard’s feet and the Chelsea favorite made no mistake in the finish.

And then it was the Mata show. A perfect counter attacking move by Chelsea saw Mata run three quarters of the pitch to find Hazard on the left and Torres on the right with 4 defenders in the way. The “small wonder” showed his true class as he slipped the ball between the defenders to an On side Hazard who put the ball past the Norwich keeper.

Mata with a delicate through ball to Hazard who scores Chelsea’s 3rd

Ivanovic completed the victory with a drilled fourth, with Chelsea now holding a four-point lead at the Premier League summit.

Oscar looked good, Cole was running throughout the game, Cesar “Dave” Azpilicueta made his first appearance in the Epl and Romeu too looked positive with his first start of this season.

All in all, it was a good game for the Blues and as pundits suggested, the big games start now. Chelsea had only Arsenal as their practical threat so far in the season and they have a series of tough fixtures after the international break.

Up next for Chelsea is former boss AVB’s Spurs. That game will be a lot more competitive, not only on the pitch, but also between the managers and the fans.