1. Jose’s “friendly” wasn’t friendly at all
Let’s face it. It was a red card. And it could have been two.
The tabloids, Twitter and most Chelsea fans were quick to defend Cesc, by the fact his chipped shot was so accurate he found the back of Chris Brunt’s head from 25 yards. An accident? Maybe. But he did kick the ball directly towards the referee Mike Jones, which was never going to go down well.
Unfortunately for Chelsea, Cesc will miss a chance to break Thierry Henry’s Premier League assist record of 20 (he’s on 18) with a 3 match ban that will continue into mid August, and the first game of the new season as defending Champions.
For a game that was deemed a friendly by Jose before the game, Chelsea looked agitated for long periods of the game. As usual Diego Costa did his very best to wind up the West Brom defence, with one heated argument with Jonas Olsson being the instigator of the Cesc fiasco.
Diego received yet another yellow card for his aggressive nature (Olsson somehow escaped a booking) – something he really needs to work on to avoid facing numerous suspensions going forward.
Last but by no means least is John Terry’s ridiculous tackle to give away a penalty, converted by the in-form Berahino. Luckily, somehow, he escaped a red and will lead the Blues out at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.
2. No sign of new signing Cuadrado
Jose rarely makes mistakes, and when he does they seem to get blown up out of proportion.
Now, personally I feel that Juan Cuadrado will come good next season. It’s never an easy transition to the Premier League and a lot of players need a season or two to understand and adapt to the necessary pace and physicality of the English game.
Similar to Angel Di Maria at Manchester United, Cuadrado hasn’t really lived up to his reputation this season, and with Mohamed Salah playing the football of his life on loan at Fiorentina, some are concerned for his future at Chelsea.
Surely, if only to save face, Jose wouldn’t let him go so soon, but he will need to be playing the football of his life to make it past January.
3. John Terry will play every minute this season
There is one player that will make the Chelsea starting line up this Saturday without fail – Mr John Terry.
The Chelsea captain is set to become only the second outfield player ever to play every single minute of a Premier League season for the league winners, after Gary Pallister achieved the feat back in 1993 for Manchester United.
After being neglected by more than one manager, notably Rafa Benitez who famously said Terry couldn’t play more than one game per week, John has been one of the stand out players for Chelsea yet again.
He made the Premier League Team of the Season, along with 5 other Chelsea players, and his reliability and defensive awareness has not waned one bit, despite his age and competition from some future Chelsea stars.
- Related: Read our Top 5 Players Likely to Leave Chelsea This Summer