Sometimes one great performance is all you need to turn your season around. After City got taken out AGAIN in the Champions League last night, Chelsea could get a win against Maccabi and perhaps start to close the gap on them in the Premiership with the confidence of their title rivals taking a hit.
Easier said than done when Chelsea have been playing so badly in the Champions League thus far.
The worst thing that Chelsea could do is even dare try and underestimate Maccabi Tel-Aviv. If this was last season, then by all means, they should walk onto the pitch half-asleep. That was when they were an unbeatable force in the Premiership. After their pre-season and start to the season, Chelsea should treat this match as a final. It's not just about winning the game, it's about mentally going back to that frame of mind they had which crowned them as champions. It's about getting their mojo back and seeing the old Chelsea again. Tonight could be the night where their season could change for the better or, and I shudder as I type this, another loss could send Chelsea into the very depths of darkness with Arsenal ready to put sword through the heart to initiate Mourinho's demise.
There is a third wheel in all of this and I'm going to use Juventus as an example. The Italian Champions have struggled greatly in Serie A, and they have not looked anywhere close like a team who can defend their title. Then they pop up last night and put in performance like that at the Etihad and walk off deserved winners. You would naturally think they would get back to winning ways in the Serie A, but don't be so quick to assume such. Perhaps it could be one of those seasons, and we've seen it before, where Juventus do really well in the Champions League but can't get it sorted out at home. Mourinho has to hope that isn't the case but it's a possibility. It would not surprise me that you see a totally different Chelsea tonight and in upcoming Champions League matches but the same tired and tactically defunct one in the Premiership. You need only to ask Di Matteo.
Hazard has to get ballin'. He needs to discover his normal self, and use this game as a booster to get his game up and running. Costa has to actually try and be a striker and be more clinical when given a chance, and not second-guess. The entire defense have to step their game up and walk off this pitch with a clean sheet and not allow Bergovic to even sneeze or take a breath. Fabregas has to go step up and start getting the team moving and be the engine that has Chelsea ticking. Mourinho needs to knock at least three or four past Tel-Aviv tonight. That team will sense blood, and will try and pile on the misery. Underestimating them will prove folly and perhaps a downfall for Chelsea.
Lord help Mourinho and his boys if they dare lose this game....
HH
