Ok, at first glance, it might seem that the result didn’t matter to me; It did, of course.
But given this was a game where nearly all of us fans and pundits had written us off, for me, it was more about how we performed today.
The game started pretty slowly for us. Our movement compared to Chelsea’s was always second best and I had it in my mind that we were just going to get beaten by a better class of side. Chelsea’s movement in the area that counts is worlds apart, with Willian, Torres and Hazard showing their usual quick thinking and passing.
Nothing new in that thinking then; you pay mega-money, you get generally better players.
So it was about how we dealt with it.
Which is the bit that really pleased me.
We actually looked like we could defend today, with Vlaar being outstanding for me. Baker did well too and while I had massive doubts about Bennett starting, as I generally don’t rate him at all, he also did mostly OK. Bacuna performed well too.
The midfielders did ok, with KEA working hard but I have to be honest; I thought Delph was anonymous early on, but he got better as the game went on. Weimann was also anonymous for most of the game, as was Gabby, which led to me questioning the tactics.
But just when I was expecting a second half onslaught from Chelsea, it didn’t happen.
While they looked like they always had enough to grind us down, we were very resolute and were still working very hard.
Hard enough to get the result, which is all that matters to me.
I take my hat off to Benteke today.
He looks sharp again (and no, I don’t believe he’s looking for a move to Chelsea) and dealt well with some of the best (sneakiest?) defenders in the Prem.
A cracking win then and totally bonus points, that should mean survival is pretty much sorted.
I quite like Mourinho, but he doesn’t do himself any favours, does he?