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Rampant Ramires Crucial To Chelseas's Progression As Andre Villas-Boas Sends Out The Big Guns In Pursuit Of FA Cup
A Brazilian brace at Stamford Bridge helped to gloss over a drab performance from a surprisingly strong side as they progress towards best chance of silverware
09-Jan-2012 1:50:00 PM
Getty Images
COMMENT
By Joe Doyle at Stamford Bridge
Ramires underlined his importance to Chelsea during their 4-0 victory over Portsmouth, in which manager Andre Villas-Boas sent out a squad packed with experience as the Blues look to the FA Cup as their most likely source of silverware this season.
The west London club are 11 points adrift of Manchester City and eight behind second-placed Manchester United in the Premier League and it looks as if London's most successful team over the past five years will end the season without a league title for the second year running.
After being knocked out of the League Cup in November by Liverpool, Chelsea lost out on perhaps the easiest route to a trophy. And while they have qualified for the knockout phase of the Champions League, they face a difficult task in overcoming Napoli before reaching the latter stages where even tougher games await.
So the world's oldest club competition, the FA Cup, represents Villas-Boas' most likely source of silverware this season, and as such he made sure there were no slip-ups in the third round - where giantkillings can go down in folklore.
Which is why Ramires was picked to start. The Brazilian has grown in stature this season after an initial rocky patch at the beginning of his Stamford Bridge career, and is becoming vital to both his team's style of play and their chances this season.
The 24-year-old scored twice against Pompey, his first a stab into the corner after being in the right place at the right time, and his second displayed all the talents that have thrust him into the limelight: strength, energy, a cool head; and a finish that left Fernando Torres looking on enviably.
The Chelsea striker has impressed recently, and added two assists against Pompey, although the first was a weak headed effort at goal that Ramires happened to get on the end of. Ultimately a striker is always judged on his goals and they just aren't flowing for Torres at the moment.
Perhaps it is because of Chelsea's style of play. At Liverpool when Torres was at his best, he had Steven Gerrard close to him in support, playing through balls for him to latch onto. At Stamford Bridge, Torres is frequently the lone striker which simply doesn't play to his strengths.
Certainly, when Didier Drogba slots into the formation, Chelsea are notably better, with the Ivorian's hold-up play and overall physical dominance a huge positive for the team.
The system does, however, suit the Brazilian midfielder who has carved out a role for himself in the centre of the field. His box-to-box play is one of the biggest assets of his game, and a big danger for the opposition.
Ramires has filled the considerable hole left by long term absentee Michael Essien, the engine of Jose Mourinho's title-winning side.
He already has eight goals to his name this season, not bad for a midfielder who wasn't an automatic pick for his manager at the start of the season.
He has come to underline his importance to the team - when he and players like Juan Mata are on form, Chelsea are certainly a formidable side.
Against Portsmouth though, the Premier League side laboured to a one-goal lead before a late flourish added a touch of gloss to the scoreline that was missing from their overall performance.
Roberto Di Matteo commented after the match that Chelsea were always confident that they would break down Portsmouth, but it took a long time before they were close to making the game safe.
In that respect, a question looms over why Villas-Boas didn't change anything. He didn't make a substitution until 12 minutes from time when Oriol Romeu was brought on to shore things up.
There was no sign of, for instance, Romelu Lukaku, to add something different to the attack. The striker was brought on with two minutes to go, hardly worth the effort of making a substitution when the young Belgian is looking for experience in the English game.
AVB - to give him his Twitter acronym - didn't make any subsitutions that would weaken the team in any way until the game was won. A sure sign that the competition is becoming a priority for the team.
After such a hectic festive period for the team, a rest could have benefitted some players - notably captain John Terry who played with the aid of a painkilling injection against Wolves and came through a late fitness test on Saturday to take his place in the team.
Players such as Josh McEachran and Ryan Bertrand on the bench could have gained hugely from the experience brought from a domestic cup tie.
But the manager has sent out a clear message with his team selection - Chelsea are out to win the FA Cup this season, and with Manchester City already one of the high-profile teams out of the competition, who is to say that Villas-Boas won't be celebrating come May?
One thing is for sure - Ramires will be key for the manager as he looks to avoid the axe that has seen his predecessors fall rather swiftly over the past five years.
By Joe Doyle at Stamford Bridge
Ramires underlined his importance to Chelsea during their 4-0 victory over Portsmouth, in which manager Andre Villas-Boas sent out a squad packed with experience as the Blues look to the FA Cup as their most likely source of silverware this season.
The west London club are 11 points adrift of Manchester City and eight behind second-placed Manchester United in the Premier League and it looks as if London's most successful team over the past five years will end the season without a league title for the second year running.
After being knocked out of the League Cup in November by Liverpool, Chelsea lost out on perhaps the easiest route to a trophy. And while they have qualified for the knockout phase of the Champions League, they face a difficult task in overcoming Napoli before reaching the latter stages where even tougher games await.
So the world's oldest club competition, the FA Cup, represents Villas-Boas' most likely source of silverware this season, and as such he made sure there were no slip-ups in the third round - where giantkillings can go down in folklore.
Which is why Ramires was picked to start. The Brazilian has grown in stature this season after an initial rocky patch at the beginning of his Stamford Bridge career, and is becoming vital to both his team's style of play and their chances this season.
The 24-year-old scored twice against Pompey, his first a stab into the corner after being in the right place at the right time, and his second displayed all the talents that have thrust him into the limelight: strength, energy, a cool head; and a finish that left Fernando Torres looking on enviably.
Far from easy | Mata's opener was all that separated the sides for long periods
The Chelsea striker has impressed recently, and added two assists against Pompey, although the first was a weak headed effort at goal that Ramires happened to get on the end of. Ultimately a striker is always judged on his goals and they just aren't flowing for Torres at the moment.
Perhaps it is because of Chelsea's style of play. At Liverpool when Torres was at his best, he had Steven Gerrard close to him in support, playing through balls for him to latch onto. At Stamford Bridge, Torres is frequently the lone striker which simply doesn't play to his strengths.
| RAMPANT RAMIRES |
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| FROM OUR LIVE COMMENTARY | |
| 87' | Torres plays in Ramires, who gallops into space. The Spaniard continues his run, but the midfielder opts not to repay the favour as he goes it alone, dinking the ball over Henderson to double his tally. |
| PLAYER RATING |
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| 7.5 | Scored two late goals that added a gloss to the scoreline, the second of which was a very well taken effort on the counter. Played well throughout. |
The system does, however, suit the Brazilian midfielder who has carved out a role for himself in the centre of the field. His box-to-box play is one of the biggest assets of his game, and a big danger for the opposition.
Ramires has filled the considerable hole left by long term absentee Michael Essien, the engine of Jose Mourinho's title-winning side.
He already has eight goals to his name this season, not bad for a midfielder who wasn't an automatic pick for his manager at the start of the season.
He has come to underline his importance to the team - when he and players like Juan Mata are on form, Chelsea are certainly a formidable side.
Against Portsmouth though, the Premier League side laboured to a one-goal lead before a late flourish added a touch of gloss to the scoreline that was missing from their overall performance.
Roberto Di Matteo commented after the match that Chelsea were always confident that they would break down Portsmouth, but it took a long time before they were close to making the game safe.
In that respect, a question looms over why Villas-Boas didn't change anything. He didn't make a substitution until 12 minutes from time when Oriol Romeu was brought on to shore things up.
There was no sign of, for instance, Romelu Lukaku, to add something different to the attack. The striker was brought on with two minutes to go, hardly worth the effort of making a substitution when the young Belgian is looking for experience in the English game.
AVB - to give him his Twitter acronym - didn't make any subsitutions that would weaken the team in any way until the game was won. A sure sign that the competition is becoming a priority for the team.
After such a hectic festive period for the team, a rest could have benefitted some players - notably captain John Terry who played with the aid of a painkilling injection against Wolves and came through a late fitness test on Saturday to take his place in the team.
Players such as Josh McEachran and Ryan Bertrand on the bench could have gained hugely from the experience brought from a domestic cup tie.
But the manager has sent out a clear message with his team selection - Chelsea are out to win the FA Cup this season, and with Manchester City already one of the high-profile teams out of the competition, who is to say that Villas-Boas won't be celebrating come May?
One thing is for sure - Ramires will be key for the manager as he looks to avoid the axe that has seen his predecessors fall rather swiftly over the past five years.
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