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1. Chelsea’s victory over Nordsjalland
For a moment, just ignore the fact that Chelsea played Nordsjaelland in their final Champions League group game. They played an incredible match overall. The second half saw Chelsea attacks which simply oozed class. At the end of the day, they were knocked out due to a rule which perhaps needs revising- the head to head rule.
Winning 6-1 in a Champions League match is something to be proud of. Only one team has achieved the feat this season- FC Bayern against Lille.
Chelsea’s promising display should earn Benitez some trust from the management despite the opposition it came against. A good performance which is worth every penny paid by the fans is at the end of the day the most important thing.
2. The Fernando Torres equation
Torres struck twice and played extremely well in the Champions League on Wednesday. The fans will argue that the match was against a lowly opponent. However, Torres still shows flashes of his talent. Last season, when he came on in the Champions League final, he troubled Bayern quite a lot.
If Torres puts in a few more performances like the one against Nordsjaelland, the fans might start to take to him. It was under Benitez that Torres became a Premier League star. Perhaps, Benitez is the man to get the best out of a player who at best is a ‘Big Transfer Flop’.
3. Benitez’s rotation policy
Chelsea has a large squad; Benitez could be the right man to manage such a squad. Against the Danes on Wednesday, Paulo Ferreira was introduced to the pitch. Ferreira is amongst the forgotten men at Chelsea. Very few coaches would have introduced him to the action. Benitez also put some of his attackers on the bench. As far as balance was concerned, the selection was perfect.
4. Chelsea has to refocus on the goals ahead
Chelsea is very much still in the hunt for the Premier League. They can still turn things around and claim the league title. They can now focus all their energies on the league. If the players, fans and owner trust Benitez, the results could turn out to be fantastic. Chelsea has the players to win the title. They have a good manager at the helm. The missing ingredient at the moment is “trust”.
The disappearances of the rather cold banners from the Chelsea fans aimed towards Benitez would certainly help everybody around the club. The Chelsea players and fans themselves are perhaps not aware of the potential in their squad. They can go a long way this season if they allow their manager to do his job.
5. Benitez has a proven track record of winning
Benitez has won more trophies as a manager and has managed in more leagues than his predecessors Roberto Di Matteo and Andre Villas Boas. Benitez didn’t win the league with Liverpool in his time there. He however took them up to second in his penultimate season there as manager. With a better and deeper Chelsea squad at his disposal, he could take them to the top. His experience alone should give the fans and players as well as Roman Abramovich a reason to trust him.
