There were many positives during today’s 3-1 victory against Monterrey this morning, we qualified for the final of the Club World Cup, the likes of Eden Hazard and David Luiz put in a good performance, whilst Fernando Torres scored in a third successive match for the first time in his Chelsea career.
But interim boss Rafael Benitez, like all coaches, is obsessed with detail and the Spaniard was not happy with the mistake that Chelsea made that led to the goal they conceded and has warned that although it doesn’t matter against the likes of Monterrey, this sort of complacency could cost us in the bigger games, such as Sunday’s final.
The former Inter Milan coach said:
“I’m not very happy with the goal we conceded.
“We won, which is fine, but still these little things can make a difference in a final, for example.
“When I talk about a winning mentality, always I talk about little details making the difference.
“They have to keep their concentration right to the end of the 90 minutes. That’s what they need to do.”
But he is pleased that after failing to win in his first three matches at the helm, he’s now won three on the bounce and we’ll be coming back to London as world champions if he can make that four. Despite being so far from home he still couldn’t escape the wrath of the Blues fans that aren’t happy with his appointment, but he maintains that it’s not about him and preferred to comment on the team.
“Now the team knows what we want to do.
“They have more confidence and are enjoying their football a bit. We still need more time to keep improving.”
I’m hoping this means that the shortcomings of our defensive work as a team is coming to an end. There’s been too many scapegoats to blame this season, whether it’s goal-shy Torres or crazy David Luiz, but every good side does everything as a collective and the lads at the top have all to often neglected their defensive duties this season.
