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| Diego Costa steals narrow win at Stamford Bridge |
TO START every journey you need to take the first step.
Have Chelsea began their route back to the top?
There’s still much, much more do but yesterday there was a certain swagger in their play that has been sorely missing of late.
There’s no denying they didn’t deserve to win yesterday but, it was a another, long agonising wait where again their put their fans through the mincer.
But now there’s hope when it seemed there was none. And the other good news is that they are.
Diego Costa was the man who got Chelsea out of a hole when it seemed he was digging deeper into it.
The swarthy striker scored the kind of the goal that was once his trade-mark but has mysteriously disappeared this season.
He was struck in the 63rd minute to suddenly put a smile on worried faces.
It also woke him up from a long slumber, in which he has fumbled and thrown away chances. None more so than against Norwich.
Yet he was very alert to a swift Cesc Fabregas free kick that for once caught Norwich’s splendid defence napping.
Fabregas lifted the ball over a back line still in retreat and Costa controlled the ball, made space for himself and then calmly curved into the far corner of the net.
It was a trip down memory lane and erased all the bad bits that had gone before.
It also inspired several more flurries in which defender Kurt Zouma struck a post from Willian’s free kick and Nemanja Matic had a fierce shot saved by Norwich keeper John Ruddy.
Chelsea fans chanted ‘champions, champions’ and for long period that looked a distant memory.
Owner Roman Abramovic, whose billion-dollar yacht usuallt scuds warm seas at this time of the year, was in the chilly stands offering his support.
When you are in a pickle, you need opponents that are almost cherry picked, or in this case canary picked.
So fly in Norwich.
They hadn’t won in 22 years at Stamford Bridge and have failed to win their last 14 Premier League games in London.
Crossing the Thames proved yesterday to be another painful experience. They gave their all, but it was good enough.
It wasn’t as if their Canary claws were missing again, more a case of Chelsea finally bouncing off the ropes after weeks of being pummelled.
Norwich showed Chelsea are still vulnerable on the break and still lacking quality in midfield.
Eden Hazard’s appetite is returning, producing several mesmerising, runs that was the trade-mark of him winning last season’s Player of the Year award.
What Chelsea did lack again was a striker who disturbed, a player with guile, pace and ability to find openings.
Costa is a bull of a man, a dark, swarthy warrior but he still prefers to batter doors rather than trying to find a better way through. He wasted a 25th minute, by ballooning over from right yards. It summed up his day until his late magical moment.
His earlier attempts had been farcical, even those to try secure a penalty bordered on comical.
He wasted another chance just before the break, his delayed shot being superbly turned away by John Ruddy’s out-stretched legs.
Few encapsulated Chelsea’s new found spirit better than Brazilian midfield ace Willian. He seemed to be everywhere.
He has been one of the few leading lights in a season cast in shadow and again yesterday he orchestrated from the front.
He was, however, lucky not to receive more than a booking for throwing the ball into Sebastian Bassong’s face when he thought a throw-in went against him.
Bassong deserves credit for not going down and making more of the incident.
It summed Norwich up. Norwich are a tidy, fair, football playing side who you hope will avoid relegation. They break fast, defend well, but just lack that cutting edge where it matters.
They were also unlucky to come up against a defender like Kurt Zouma, who rarely put a foot, or header, wrong.
Their own defence also made a great fist of it, a colleague was rarely left isolated and they funnelled back in numbers whenever Chelsea were in full flow.
Manager Jose Mourinho stalked the touchline and in the end threw his arm up in delight. It was that kind of day...and moment.
Chelsea: Begovic 6; Ivanovic 6, Zouma 7, Terry 7, Kennedy 6; Fabregas 6, Matic 6; Pedro 6 (Oscar 82)5, Willian 8 (Ramires 86)5, Hazard 6 (Azpilicueta 90); Costa 5.
Norwich: Ruddy 7; Wisdom 6, Bennett 6, Bassong 7, Olsson 6; Redmond 7, Howson 6 (Hoolahan 73) 5), Mulumbu 6 (Dorrans 73) 5, O’Neil 6, Brady 6; Mbokani 6.
Star Man: Willian. While others have failed this season, the Brazilian has never faltered and agan he glued the side together.
Referee: C Pawson
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