Ian Wright : Chelsea are a real threat
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Ian Wright
WHEN Chelsea were beaten by Arsenal at the Emirates in December only a mug would have put money on Blues being in with a shout for the title.
Yet three months later, Chelsea have emerged as the real threat to Manchester United while the Gunners have stumbled a little. Since that 1-0 defeat, Avram Grant’s side have gone 12 Premier League games without a loss, winning nine and drawing the others.
That’s title winning form and it underlines how strong the Chelsea squad is.
GOLD RESERVE . . . Alex is key at Chelsea
Chelsea did the business
The crunch time that sorted the men from the boys for Chelsea was the African Cup of Nations when players such as Didier Drogba, Michael Essien and Salomon Kalou left. Chelsea’s title hopes hinged on how they would cope — and the back-up team did the business. It was the same when first choices such as Frank Lampard, John Terry and Michael Ballack were injured — their replacements came in without too much fuss to deliver. Alex, Steve Sidwell and Claudio Pizarro among others kept the wheels turning.
Chelsea can now go level on points with Arsenal by beating Tottenham. The impressive depth of Grant’s squad is paying off. It’s hard to keep players happy when they are not in the team but the back-up boys did their part.
The team plays in a regimented way, moving the ball up front quickly but they are creating chances so they must be doing something right. I’m sure Chelsea want to play a free-flowing game but at this stage it is just about winning. I feel they will keep up the pressure by winning at White Hart Lane.
They have a good record there and have not forgotten the Carling Cup final defeat. The three points are important for Chelsea because none of the top three can afford to lose or even draw a single game.
On paper Bolton look a knock-over for Manchester United tomorrow but the visitors will be fighting for their lives. I can’t wait for Super Sunday. It’s fantastic we are at such a late stage of the season and so much is riding on those two games.
If Chelsea do lose to Arsenal they will surely be out of the race. Liverpool can’t win the title but they can help stop United doing it again — quite an incentive though. This will be one of the best run-ins for the title ever.