Chelsea FC vs. Norwich City: Fernando Torres, Juan Mata and Player Grades

Chelsea suffered a major setback to their slim hopes of winning the Premier League as they dropped two points in a goalless draw to Norwich City on Saturday. The Blues dominated the game, but the poor finishing that has seen them ride out tedious wins finally caught up to them as a litany of chances in the box were squandered.

Chelsea controlled the game through the first 10 minutes with some excellent open-field play. The entire team was moving the ball perhaps the best they had all season, hinting that Villas-Boas’ high octane attack may be starting to work itself into the minds of the players.

Chelsea’s best chance of the half came from a tricky Torres shot that required the best out of Norwich keeper John Ruddy. Lampard played a neat ball across his body to find Ramires open in the midfield. Ramires slotted it down to Torres who was one on one on the top of the box, placing it with the outside of his right foot and forcing a diving save from Ruddy.

For all of Chelsea’s excellent play they went into the break with nothing to show for it.

The second half got underway with a seemingly disheartened Chelsea coming out of the tunnel. It took almost 20 minutes for them to regain their form of the first half and began to press hard on to the Norwich goal.

A few chances from Torres, Mata and Ramires left the fans wanting more as their inability to score has finally cost them points.

Overall Chelsea played a fine match statistically, dominating possession, overwhelming shot total and maneuvering at will. But in the end it is the zero on the scoreboard that matters most as Villas-Boas will surely look at this as two points dropped and a continuation of the poor form that has gripped the club for weeks now.

Petr Cech: B+

Was not called on much in the game. The Chelsea back four held up for the most part as any shots the keeper took on were easy saves straight at his chest.

He plucked a few crosses out of the air with confidence and even was able to distribute the ball up the field with some drop kicks, but nothing came of them. Not his fault for the dropped points, but did string together two consecutive clean sheets for only the second time this season.

Ashley Cole: B-

Had a decent defensive showing. The wingers for Norwich got around him once or twice, but it was almost as if they were playing to allow it and rightfully so as it posed no threat. Whenever he was beat he tracked back quickly and shut the opposition down before they threatened.

Cole was surprisingly absent in the offensive half today. He got forward as usual, but did not provide much effective supply. The flow of the early part of the game made this OK, but when things became stagnant, he was really needed to help excite the flanks.

John Terry: A

An excellent game by the skipper where he was commander in charge of one of the best defensive showings the team has had all year. Only two shots on target for the Canaries was not due to lack of time on the ball or being dominated in the midfield. It was the combined effort of the back four to keep the shots difficult and Norwich out of striking position.

Terry himself finished with modest stats, but you know that he was the one engineering the play of the entire line.

David Luiz: A-

One of the better games of his Chelsea career. The always anxious Brazilian was controlled in his play like we have rarely seen, not taking chances when he doesn’t need to and only bombing forward when he knows it is safe to do so.

He was the obvious focal point for a Norwich side that was aiming to capitalize on the mistake prone center-back, but he held his ground and played with confidence.

Grant Holt is by no means just another striker and he challenged Luiz all day. The fact that Luiz was able to keep him mute could be a turning point in the lad's career at Stamford Bridge.

Jose Bosingwa: B

Normally a time to bash Bosingwa for all he’s worth, it is difficult to do so in his play today. He was not the best defender out there, but did play well beyond the low expectations we have for him as fans.

No errant mistakes. No horrible giveaways. No game costing decisions. Statistically he finished better than any other Chelsea defender (five tackles and four clearences).

But he was not much there in the forward half much like Cole. It presents an interesting question of whether Bosingwa is really a terrible defender or is he just being asked to over exert himself in both ends of the pitch.

Either way, the Blues' offensive woes were not helped by Bosingwa’s ineffectiveness in moving forward.

Raul Meireles: C+

The first half of the game was Meireles’ best as a Chelsea player. He was integral in the midfield, playing the holding position with total effectiveness. He would receive the ball from the defenders and immediately look long to find the forwards consistently beating the Norwich back line, playing excellent long balls over the top.

However, the second half showed an considerable slow down in his play. He was timid on the ball and slow off it. Not blaming him for an early second half let down, but his substitution for Essien reignited the squad.

Ramires: B+

The same outstanding performance we expect from him week in and week out was on display again. His hustle and energy won him multiple balls in the midfield where he moved from one box to the next with ease.

Offensively he was alive, playing with excellent vision a ball to Torres that turned out the be their best chance of the match. However, he again found himself in a scoring position, but was unable to finish with a shot. Just add that to a growing tally of goals Ramires should have scored, which is probably up to 10 on the season.

Frank Lampard: B

Got off to an excellent start with the rest of the team. He was moving the ball around the pitch excellently acting as a fulcrum for switching between the attack and offense. His great ball to Ramires running through the midfield before he laid it off to Torres gave the team their best scoring chance in the opening part of the match.

Lamps was holding his calf when he came off and was shown with ice on it later. Hopefully he will have a speedy recovery and get back to the lineup with his winning ways soon.

Juan Mata: C+

Villas-Boas seemingly gave Mata the OK to go wherever he needs to get the ball realizing that the Chelsea attack hinges on Mata’s performance. He was all over the pitch, switching out with both Torres and Sturridge, dropping back deep in the midfield and moving into a striker position when Torres was on the ball.

For the most part you can say the strategy worked as Chelsea dominated in all offensive statistics, but it was ineffectual finishing that would prove to be the reason for the bad result.

Mata was not exempt from this as he finished with only two of five shots on target and none that really seemed destined for goal. As the man who makes the offense go and the leader of the final third, he needs to step up his game in front of the net and set an example for the other struggling forwards.

Daniel Sturrdige: C-

A spotty game for the young winger on his return to the starting lineup. There were times when he was bombing down the flank and creating all kinds of havoc for the back line. Then at others he would go long spells with nothing going on with his play.

In his defense, there were multiple times when he was open and did not receive the ball, but it is his responsibility to check back and get it.

However, there was no excuse for a continued trend of poor decisions. One in particular had him alone on the wing with Torres running far post and Lampard coming near. Instead of playing it to Lampard to continue his move and cross to a wide open Torres, he played it to Torres who was simply disposed.

This kind of play is becoming old news and hurting the attack.

Fernando Torres: B-

Torres had probably his best 15 minutes of his Chelsea career to start the match. He was literally all over the pitch, playing almost Rooneyesque from one corner flag to the other. It allowed him to create space for himself in wide positions as well as sneak in behind center backs at an angle.

His beautiful shot in the first half, which forced the best out of Ruddy, was the closest Chelsea came to scoring and an indicator that he was going to do something special this match.

However, that moment would not come. He went down with the team in the beginning of the second half lulling everyone to sleep as nothing happened. He picked it up again though as things became more urgent.

Much to my surprise, he was substituted for Lukaku with 15 minutes to go. I thought it was harsh treatment for a player whose confidence has wavered and overall was playing a decent game. But in the end I guess the goalless drought that is now 14 straight games (the longest of his career) will continue and in this case cost them points.

Florent Malouda (37th Minute for Lampard)

Forced to come for Lampard who suffered a freak calf injury, Malouda started out pretty slow. The pace of the game was quick and he was struggling to keep up. Eventually he did and had a decent overall match.

Five key passes which help set up numerous scoring opportunities and a 93 percent passing accuracy both led the attack.

Many will most likely argue that he slowed down the game, which he somewhat did. But as long as he was out there the team was getting chances and it is more hinging on the forwards to score and make that first ball Malouda played have meaning.

Lukaku (77th Minute for Torres)

It took Drogba to be away for it to happen, but finally Lukaku may get some playing time. In what I see as an interesting move it was a direct swap for the good form Torres.

Lukaku actually played pretty well given the short amount of time in the game. He had one excellent run that saw him get right into the Norwich box, but had little support in there to help him.

In the end it was a failed move for Villas-Boas, as even mini Drogba could not do what was needed  to get Chelsea full points.

Essien (79th Minute for Meireles)

Still working his way back into the flow of the game, Essien logged another 10 minutes today. Not an entirely effectual run, it is still good to see him playing