When Avram Grant crawled out of his dugout on that glorious Saturday afternoon that put Chelsea level on points with Manchester United, you could have sworn from a distance, he looked more like a bear than an actual human being.
Perhaps for once, the adrenaline had gotten the best of the Israeli manager who finally managed to answer the questions fired by critics on a week-to-week basis about whether he was capable of doing the job as the Chelsea manager.
Whatever the case was, Grant was letting out his emotions in front of the sea of blue at Stamford Bridge—and it showed.
His eyes were bulging out; his arms were outstretched as ever; and his roar of approval after Michael Ballack's penalty was frightening, to say the least.
And ever since that moment, the ball has been rolling in Chelsea's court, after taking a backseat to Manchester United's run at the top of the Premier League table.
Chelsea is now currently level with United with 81 points and two matches remaining in the schedule. Chelsea faces Newcastle United and Bolton; Manchester United takes on West Ham and Wigan Athletic.
Of course, this sudden change of scenery for Chelsea Football Club has come along with their recent successes in the top flight and, as well, as the Champions League.
After a sound 4-3 aggregate victory over Liverpool in the semi final legs of the Champions League, the limelight of uncertainty amongst Premier League managers has shifted towards the likes of Sven Goran Eriksson at Manchester City.
It was a result that would have shocked even the most biased Chelsea supporters at the beginning of the year. Avram Grant had done what Chelsea's beloved Portuguese predecessor had never done before: get to the Champions League final.
Grant was claiming that he did it his way. He even went as far to joke that he was now the new "Special One."
Needless to say, it was a far cry from the monosyllabic press conference given at Goodison Park a little over two weeks ago.
Because, after all, his club had answered the call and at the most opportune time.
The players, themselves, deserve all lot of credit for the resiliency demonstrated on the pitch, in particular, Essien and Carvalho.
Michael Essien has done a fantastic job filling in wherever Grant has asked him to play; whether it be at right-back or in central midfield.
Ricardo Carvalho, the former Porto man, has been the club's unsung hero with his consistent performances while Chelsea was still recovering from the absences of John Terry and Petr Cech.
The Chelsea players even went as far as carrying out a shirt to honor Frank Lampard's mother, who tragically passed away, following Ballack's first goal that initially put his club out in front of the visitors. Led by club captain John Terry, Chelsea players huddled together to show the public of the unity that existed at the club.
Prior to Ballack's season-changing penalty, Chelsea's bid for the league title was hanging by a thread on that Sunday afternoon in London. Players were getting into heated scrums and the intensity was everything you would have expected in such a massive game.
1 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Andrew McNair about 1 year ago
Players have started to come out supporting him so I think it will be interesting to see how this saga plays out.
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