Chelsea’s draw against Maribor created several interesting talking points.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho was critical of the focus his players showed as they missed out on the chance to seal their place in the last 16 of the Champions League last night.
A sole goal from Nemanja Matic wasn’t enough to help the Blues to a win, as Eden Hazard missed a penalty on a frustrating night in Slovenia for the Portuguese coach.
“Many times surprises happen when people are not fully focused, when they believe the game can’t be a difficult one,” said Mourinho.
“Only when Maribor scored did the players realise the danger.”
Here are five things we learned about Chelsea from the game.
Zouma
Zouma looks like a real talent in the Chelsea back four and a defender capable of playing at the highest level. He showed an all-round solid game and seems to have pace to burn, which allows Chelsea to play a higher defensive line.
Liverpool
There were some hints towards how Mourinho may set his side up for the match against Liverpool this weekend as Diego Costa, Oscar and Gary Cahill all started the game on the bench.
Shots
Chelsea had 24 shots during the game but managed to score just once, which won’t please the boss. It suggests that the Blues need to be much more precise in attack when they have openings in these sort of gritty and difficult games.
Complacency
Mourinho’s post match comments suggest he feels there was a little bit of complacency from his Chelsea side. That’s dangerous because the Blues are yet to qualify out of their group and there’s still a long way left to go this season.
Hazard
Mourinho said after the match that Eden Hazard was Chelsea’s best attacking player, despite his missed penalty, which destroys the notion he’s not in great form at the moment. Hopefully, as far as the Blues are concerned, he can carry the momentum into the Liverpool game.
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