Chelsea cruised against lower league opposition as they drilled in 5 past a hapless MK Dons side who were always ready to give away a goal from the moment they stepped on the pitch. Here are the major talking points from the FA Cup tie which was a rather drab match for the neutral.
Chelsea need defenders desperately
Chelsea have been coasting on a Terry-Cahill partnership for a long time now but this cant go on much longer as Cahill’s backing off coupled with Terry’s lack of pace spells trouble. Zouma is already one of the best in the league and will be looking for a better partner than Cahill next season as Terry is definitely departing the club. New signing Matt Miazga might be given a chance to make an impression as he joins the club and doesn’t head out on loan. another prospect, Andreas Christensen might step up to the plate next summer with Cahill taking the form of the veteran mentor at the club.
Costa and Fabregas are in red hot form
As Chelsea steamrolled their opponents, the familiar culprits Costa and Fabregas were at it again as Costa was pulling defenders away left and right while Fabregas was just impeccable in possession. They need to avoid injuries if Chelsea have any hope in any competition(s) left. Chelsea will now compete heavily in the cups and will need to do so with vigour if they have ant hopes of meriting an European place at the end of the season. The duo will be depended on for these endeavours. A slight semblance to the 11-12 season can be seen with the current Chelsea predicament.
Loftus Cheek and Traore need to give more
A major point of discussion amongst Chelsea and football fans in general is their misuse of the loan policy but when these youngsters are actually given a chance to play for the club, they need to simply give their all. A lackadaisical approach wins them no fans. Even as RLC and Traore notched up an assist and a goal respectively, they should know that effort is valued much more than an odd-goal or two. Loftus Cheek was very reluctant to track back and was heavily underutilised by the Chelsea players in possession as he was always marked by an opponent. Players like McEachran and Borini have previously gone down this path and failed, hence these couple of players must take lesson from the past and put in the shift of their lives when they put on the Royal Blue of Chelsea.
Chelsea need to finish better
In a game where Chelsea scored 5, it is a major disappointment that Chelsea missed many chances on a plate. This goes to show their dominance but missing open goals like how Costa and Oscar contrived to do so against the Dons was a gentle reminder of the early season malaise Chelsea endured. In the opening 20 minutes, Chelsea couldve easily had 3 goals as Oscar squandered a couple of chances as he tried to be clever while Costa had one decent strike saved miraculouly by the opposing keeper. Eden Hazard also looked to continue his goal drought as he struck a golden chance flat on the keeper. Chelsea will need to make more of these chances if they want to endure hopes in the knockout competitions.
Oscar is back
Oscar has been wavering in form over the last few matches as he now matches Costa’s return in number of goals over the matches since Sunderland. He will look to improve consistency which is very difficult as a number ten in the Premier League as the opponents only look to hunt you down. He played largely on the left wing today and was always a threat as he cut in from the left to cause the opposing fullback a problem. He also scored the brilliant third goal after he cut in and curled in a brilliant finish. THe second goal, though, came when he was playing as a number 10 and made an impeccable run which Loftus-Cheek did well to spot. Same with the first goal, this goes to show what the Brazilian is capable of in vaious positions for Chelsea.