It’s just like watching Brazil, as the old Barnsley number goes, at the Bridge these days. Two of their South American stars, David Luiz and Ramires, were on the scoresheet in the second half to claim three vital points for the West Londoners and leapfrog them over rivals Manchester City into third spot in the Premier League table.
The Champions had to be patient, as their visitors arrived with every aspect of their play designed to destroy; two banks of five denying Chelsea for over an hour. But with Carlos Tevez missing due to a suspected groin strain, Mario Balotelli benched following his midweek martial arts and Edin Dzeko misfiring alone up front, and after 77 minutes spent thwarting a stream of patient probing from their hosts, City eventually succumbed to a substitute’s set-piece.
Carlo Ancelotti’s decision to replace Fernando Torres, enjoying by far his best performance in a blue shirt, with Didier Drogba at the 70-minute mark was met with howls of derision from the home fans. However, the Ivorian hit-man turned provider with 12 minutes to play; the afternoon’s first delivery of genuine quality catching City cold as David Luiz checked to guide home a header via Hart’s flailing left hand.
The supporters’ groans were, in fairness, not a response to the substitute but the choice as to the man whom he should replace, as their feelings towards Salomon Kalou’s continued on-pitch presence turned from being curiously confused to utterly mystified. Indeed, only when the lesser Ivorian had departed did Chelsea at last break the deadlock. Nicolas Anelka had appeared alongside Drogba at the expense of a desperately disappointing Florent Malouda, but it was once Yury Zhirkov took over from the lively yet ultimately uninspired Kalou that Chelsea finally forged ahead from a free kick won through the trickery of Luiz down the left flank.
If the centre-half’s performance was something special, then that of his compatriot Ramires was simply sublime. The midfielder, playing in a slightly unnatural right-sided role, was phenomenal from start to finish. His tenacity in the tackle, awareness in possession and maturity in a duty demanding constant concentration and undying commitment, was extraordinary for a player who was not long ago seen as a bad purchase and who is still adjusting to life in a foreign land as he approaches his 24th birthday on Thursday.
His goal was a reflection of his greatest attributes; his skill taking him past a hapless Joleon Lescott and an outclassed Alexandr Kolarov then in on goal, where his composure completely outwitted Joe Hart, as the former Benfica man calmly awaited the keeper’s movement before assertively lifting the ball over him and into the back of the net to clinch victory in stoppage time.
Ramires fittingly received the ball from Michael Essien, who was almost his equal in a dominating second half display, while special mention must also go to the Chelsea backline, which was rarely threatened predominantly due to their pre-emptive reading of the game, led by the newly reinstated national skipper John Terry. The Chelsea and England captain was immaculate for the most part, despite picking up a knock, and this assuredness spread throughout his team.
Terry can now look forward to taking his country into battle in Wales at the weekend knowing that, when he returns, the Blues will occupy a Champions League berth and can again afford to look up in search of their immediate challengers. His club's grip on the title has not yet loosened conclusively.
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