If Guus Hiddink wants the job, he should almost certainly be offered the permanent manager position at Chelsea.
The Blues dominated Norwich City from the first minute as Kenedy scored his first ever Premier League goal a mere 39 seconds – the fastest goal in the league so far this season.
The Canaries proved unable to beat the Chelsea defense as they finished the first half without a single shot on goal. Diego Costa, meanwhile, pulled off one of the biggest robberies of the season by scoring a goal before the half after being clearly offsides – much to the ignorance of the referees.
Norwich City managed to get close in the second half thanks to a goal of their own, but the defense held and the Blues notched their third BPL win a row – their first winning streak of the season.
Though Antonio Conte has been rumoured to be the man to take over as Chelsea manager, there is no denying that the locker room and the fans are warming up to the energy that Guus Hiddink has brought to the club since taking over for Jose Mourinho.
If Hiddink does not get the job by no decision of his own, there could be a lot of angry voices at Stamford Bridge.
Here are the Chelsea player ratings from their 2-1 win vs Norwich City:
Courtois – 6.5
One can argue that Chelsea’s best goalkeeper was the ‘Norwich header’ – nearly three of which sailed over the goalpost without Courtois needing to lift a finger. He got beat cleanly on the Redmond goal though.
Azpilicueta – 7
Leading passer on the Chelsea defense, Dave drew a few fouls and did a good job keeping the ball safe.
Cahill – 7
Yet another good performance by Cahill, who made several key interceptions.
Ivanovic – 7
Cleared the ball numerous times and made only one mistake at a time where they could afford to make one.
Kenedy – 9.5
It’s hard to start faster than Kenedy did. He tackled, cleared the ball and passed superbly. The late gaffe on the Norwich City goal is all that kept him from earning a perfect 10.
Fabregas – 7.5
Another day, another strong possession performance for Fabregas, who led the team is passes and drew a foul.
Matic – 6
Strong passing performance, but didn’t touch the ball for any other reason
Traore – 7.5
Credited with the assist to Costa’s “goal,” Traore was pulled in the second half after minimal work in the possession game.
Oscar – 6.5
Bad tackle early that earned a yellow card, didn’t see much action asides from his deflected shot.
Eden Hazard – 7.5
Notched his first BPL assist since September on that goal from Kenedy, but he got in Oscar’s way on what would have been a match-sealing goal.
Diego Costa – 8
As the saying goes, ‘he committed highway robbery without a gun’ on that goal which was clearly offsides, but he still finished and that was most important.
Substitutes:
John Obi Mikel – 5
Very minimal impact as a sub
Willian – 5
Did not see the ball much after replacing Traore.
Baba Rahman – 6
Cleared the ball four times after replacing Kenedy, several of which came as Norwich were trying to equalize.
SEE MORE:
Video: Leicester City 2-2 West Bromwich Albion – Craig Gardner deals Foxes title blow
Diego Costa goal video v Norwich: Chelsea’s masked bandit steals clearly offside strike
Kenedy goal video v Norwich: Guus Hiddink’s inspired left-back selection works within 40 seconds