Another mismatch sees Stoke torn asunder
THE dystopian vision of the Premier League articulated by Jamie Carragher last week, the ‘joke league’ where the gap between the top and the rest is embarrassingly wide, took fresh form at Stamford Bridge in a match that was over as soon as the teamsheets whirred out of the photocopier in the Chelsea press room.
This was not about a team massing its defence, as Newcastle had done against Manchester City. This was about a team who didn’t even get to that point. This was about a team which effectively conceded defeat before the match began because they knew they would be hopelessly outmatched.
We knew what was coming and it took a little over 120 seconds to arrive. That was when Antonio Rudiger scored Chelsea’s opener. Danny Drinkwater added a second a few minutes later. Game over. The rest of the match was a glorified kick-about.
It was only ever a question of how many Chelsea would score and how much Stoke could limit the damage.
In the end they managed three more goals from Pedro, Willian’s penalty and Davide Zappacosta.
There was still plenty to admire in Chelsea’s display. The performances of Pedro and Willian were a joy to watch and it was good to see Drinkwater approaching the form that made him such a mainstay of Leicester City’s title-winning team the season before last.
Stoke are now hovering perilously above the bottom three and speculation about Mark Hughes’ job is increasing. ‘We were stretched today,’ he said afterwards, ‘and they had the quality to hurt us even with our best available 11.
‘I made decisions I thought would help us with our game on Monday. If we can get the win against Newcastle that we hope we can get, it will be a good return for the Christmas period. It would mean we’d have two wins, a draw and a defeat against Chelsea.’
Blues boss Antonio Conte said: ‘To finish this year in this way is great for me and the club and the fans.
‘It was a fantastic year. To win the title in England is not easy and to be able to do this in your first chance… I will remember this year forever.’