That is potentially a mouth-watering tie and Jose Mourinho’s boys prepared quite well for it when they mauled visiting Swansea City 4-2 on Saturday. It was a battle of two sides that had not dropped a point and that Chelsea won it means they remained the only side with100 percent record in four games.
City lay fifth on the log, following their thrilling 2-2 draw away at Arsenal. It was quite a difficult game from where a draw would suffice for either coach, but with The Blues up next and cruising, the result was one Manuel Pellegrini would not have wanted ahead of a clash with a side now trying to wrestle away his crown so early in the season. The last time the two sides met in a league tie, Chelsea nearly upset City’s push for league glory with a 1-0 away win and Pellegrini had to rely on Liverpool’s ineptitude to walk to the podium.
Upfront, each side is as lethal as the other and goals could surely flow in this game, unless Mourinho decides to “park a bus” as he did in that 1-0 away win last season.
Diego Costa scored a hat-trick that set his side up for glory against Swansea, while the man who replaced him after the break, Loic Remy, scored the other goal, but City cannot be said to be blue over their weekend opponents.
In Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko, Martín Demichelis and Samir Nasri, City also have firepower upfront and only the two managers can twist the way those teams will play.
Elsewhere, Manchester United finally remembered how it felt like to win a league game, after they collected their first set of points against a lacklustre Queens Park Rangers on Sunday. A win is a win and when it comes in such vehement fashion for a side that had forgotten its taste, it does not usually matter whether the opposition is big or small.
Man-of-the-match Angel Di Maria, Aguera Ander Herrera, Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata all added a goal apiece to take the pressure off Louis van Gaal’s shoulders.
It took longer than the fans would have liked but, finally, there is the sense that Manchester United have turned up. They have taken their time and the margin of victory has to be put into context when the opponents are so desperately anaemic, but it is a start and even a man of Louis van Gaal’s cavernous self-belief would be relieved to have his first Premier League win.
His team played at times as though they had suddenly remembered what is expected of a United side once they pull on those red shirts. They were quick, incisive and demonstrated a speed of thought that was simply too much for a team with QPR’s limitations.
Van Gaal himself described it as a “new start” and revealed his intention to return the league championship to Old Trafford. Far-fetched for this season for some, yet with manner in which City, Liverpool and Arsenal have stuttered as favourites, Chelsea might remain the only hindrance between the Dutchman and his 2014/15 dream.
Weekend Fixtures
Saturday: QPR Vs Stoke City; Newcastle United vs Hull City; Swansea City vs Southampton; Burnley vs Sunderland; Aston Villa vs Arsenal; West Ham United vs Liverpool
Sunday: Tottenham Hotspur vs WestBrom; Leicester vs Manchester United; Everton vs Crystal Palace; Manchester City vs Chelsea
Post published in: Football