Chelsea's first half performance was far from stellar, but they played well in the second half and earned a derby win over their West London rivals.
Despite all the talk of a crisis at Stamford Bridge after a couple of very poor results against Everton and Basel, the Blues are top of the Premier League table after they recorded a 2-0 win over Fulham. They were held scoreless in the first half and had very few chances, but put together an impressive second-half performance, capped off by John Obi Mikel's first Premier League goal.
Juan Mata and David Luiz, despite being reportedly fit enough to play, were controversially left out of Jose Mourinho's 18-man squad. The Blues did not name a central defender on their bench and opted to include Kevin de Bruyne and Willian over Mata.
Fulham had their best chance of the match in the 13th minute, off a terrible giveaway by Ramires. His turnover in midfield led to Pajtim Kasami finding Darren Bent with a through ball that sent him one-on-one with Petr Cech, but the Chelsea keeper made a stop on a tame shot.
Chelsea's only big chance of the first half came right before the halftime whistle blew. An intricate passing spell around the penalty area led to Eden Hazard spraying wide for Branislav Ivanovic, who wound up for a powerful shot, but David Stockdale was able to make the stop.
Early in the second half, Chelsea played with quite a bit more ambition and only needed seven minutes to find the eventual game-winning goal. Oscar was the scorer, but his opportunity only came after Stockdale came up with a pair of big saves. He stopped Andre Schürrle's initial effort from a narrow angle and Samuel Eto'o's close-range follow-up, but Kieran Richardson lost track of Oscar and allowed the Brazilian to mop up the mess in the box.
The result was sealed in the 84th minute by Mikel, the most uncharacteristic of scorers. He scored with an impressive scissor kick volley off a header by John Terry following a corner to double Chelsea's lead and ensure a win for his team. The Nigerian midfielder had been threatening all through the game, bursting forward in unusual runs through the middle.
“Today’s game was all about winning,” Mikel told Sky Sports after the game. “My goal is just a bonus, but I’m pretty happy – it’s about time!”
Derided for many years by many Chelsea fans and analysts for his sideways passes, Mikel is an entirely different player in a Nigeria jersey where he has been the fulcrum of the attack and leader up front.
After playing such an influential role in the Super Eagles’ march to win the Africa Cup of Nations in February, he gained critical praise for his performance at the Confederations Cup in Brazil where he scored a memorable goal against Uruguay.
Recently, he was named man of the match in Nigeria’s 2-0 victory over Malawi in Calabar as the Super Eagles secured late passage into the final 2014 World Cup play-off round.
Such has been his influence on the national team that one wonders why he has not been able to transfer that form to his club.
His future at Chelsea came under question during the summer transfer window as many Nigerians hoped he would go to a club where his attacking prowess could be better utilised, perhaps it was a good decision for him to stay behind and fight for his place in the Blues squad.
By means of the confidence gotten from this goal, the 26-year-old could be heading into the best year of his career in England.
Among some quarters, there’s a growing call for him to be named the African footballer of the year. There are still three months to go before the end of the year and he will need to prove himself worthy of the title.
But from what we have seen thus far, it is not too early to be optimistic.
Chelsea: Cech, Cole, Terry, Cahill, Ivanovic, Mikel, Ramires, Hazard (De Bruyne 85'), Oscar, Schürrle (Lampard 80'), Eto'o (Torres 64')
Goals: Oscar: (52'), Mikel (84')
Fulham: Stockdale, Richardson, Hangeland, Amorebieta, Riether, Kacaniklic (Mesca 72'), Sidwell, Parker, Duff (Taarabt 64'), Kasami (Rodallega 85'), Bent
Goals: None
