Typical After Match Analysis of a Football Game
As the Premier League returns after highly enjoyable European fixtures, we look at Chelsea’s away game at Sunderland.
The game started with both teams fielding strong sides, with Chelsea including the creative trio of Mata, H azard and Oscar after recent weeks apart. The Sunderland team, reeling from the loss of Martin O’Neill, fielded a similarly strong side, with the exception of Conor Wickham who surprisingly started ahead of recent signing Danny Graham, perhaps a hint of the changes Di Canio is planning to implement following his entrance.
The first half was very poor in terms of standard of play, very few chances of real intent were being made, and neither team looked to have the cutting edge.
It was only until the final few minutes of the first half that the game really burst into life, with a Sunderland corner, arriving at the head of John O’shea, who flicking it towards goal, managed to cannon it off the Chelsea right back Azpilicutea, and into the open net. An unspectacular goal in scrappy circumstances, but a much needed one for Sunderland following recent poor displays.
The second half provided a harsh contrast to the first one, with Chelsea keen to get back into game and revitalise their hopes of a top 4 finish, and this change in play resulted in the next big chance of the game in the 49th minute, with Torres galloping on the left and finding a cross for Oscar, which was well charged down by Mignolet, but in bizarre circumstances, the ball ricocheted off Matthew Kilgalon’s heel and slowly trickled into the net.
Both teams guilty now of own goals, neither were keen on conceding more sloppy goals and so the game lulled into quite a boring affair, with both teams content at holding back and occasionally having the odd attack at counters.
However, this style of play led to the next big chance of the game only 8 minutes later, with David Luiz. Running up the field from his defensive quarters and, striking the ball well, managed to hit it onto Ivanovic
The game started with both teams fielding strong sides, with Chelsea including the creative trio of Mata, H azard and Oscar after recent weeks apart. The Sunderland team, reeling from the loss of Martin O’Neill, fielded a similarly strong side, with the exception of Conor Wickham who surprisingly started ahead of recent signing Danny Graham, perhaps a hint of the changes Di Canio is planning to implement following his entrance.
The first half was very poor in terms of standard of play, very few chances of real intent were being made, and neither team looked to have the cutting edge.
It was only until the final few minutes of the first half that the game really burst into life, with a Sunderland corner, arriving at the head of John O’shea, who flicking it towards goal, managed to cannon it off the Chelsea right back Azpilicutea, and into the open net. An unspectacular goal in scrappy circumstances, but a much needed one for Sunderland following recent poor displays.
The second half provided a harsh contrast to the first one, with Chelsea keen to get back into game and revitalise their hopes of a top 4 finish, and this change in play resulted in the next big chance of the game in the 49th minute, with Torres galloping on the left and finding a cross for Oscar, which was well charged down by Mignolet, but in bizarre circumstances, the ball ricocheted off Matthew Kilgalon’s heel and slowly trickled into the net.
Both teams guilty now of own goals, neither were keen on conceding more sloppy goals and so the game lulled into quite a boring affair, with both teams content at holding back and occasionally having the odd attack at counters.
However, this style of play led to the next big chance of the game only 8 minutes later, with David Luiz. Running up the field from his defensive quarters and, striking the ball well, managed to hit it onto Ivanovic