Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin believes his former club are heading in the right direction following their 1-0 triumph over Manchester United on Sunday afternoon. The Blues had come off a gruelling 3-0 defeat at the hands of AS Roma, but they managed to overcome any nervousness to clinch a solid win over Jose Mourinho’s men.
The Premier League holders could have easily doubled their lead on the day, but Antonio Conte will have been pleased with a solid performance against a direct league rival. In the aftermath of the game, Nevin believes the likes of Alvaro Morata, N’Golo Kante and Andreas Christensen could emulate the core reminiscent of the period where Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and John Terry worked together.
He said: “At Stamford Bridge we know the importance of a good core to a team; Terry, Lampard and Drogba were not too bad for that, were they? It is not a case of comparing those three at the weekend with the aforementioned club legends; that would be grossly unfair, but in that Alvaro is 25, N’Golo is 26, both coming into their primes, and Andreas at 21 has over a decade at the top in front of him, there is the possibility this could be the start of something special and something very long-term as well.”
Morata had adapted tremendously since his arrival from Real Madrid in the summer, and though his performances have not been top-notch of late, he bagged the vital winner in the 1-0 win over United. Kante also put in a strong performance for the Blues last weekend after recovering from a hamstring problem which hampered his participation for the best part of a month.
Andreas Christensen is probably the surprise package of the lot, but the Dane’s composure at the back has been admirable versus the likes of Tottenham and United. The young defender replaced David Luiz at centre-back, and dominated the proceedings versus Romelu Lukaku, who failed to produce a touch in the opposition box.