A Progress Report on Chelsea's Squad Entering March International Break
As we head into the international break, Jose Mourinho can be happy with where his team finds itself.
Six points clear at the top of the Premier League and with a game in hand, even the most optimistic Manchester City or Arsenal fan will concede it's difficult to look beyond Chelsea being named champions come May.
Indeed, with 27 points still left on the board, Mourinho's men need only secure 19 of them to guarantee a title parade.
It all looks impressive on paper, but in reality, Chelsea are showing signs they will stumble over the line rather than sprint over it.
With the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Oscar off form, they're not looking the same team that stretched into an early-season lead, and frailties are beginning to appear.
Chelsea have developed a bad habit of conceding leads, and until the recent victory over Hull City, it was their defenders who seemed to pose the biggest goal threat going forward.
So where do Mourinho's men find themselves? While the players are away on international duty, we take a closer look with our progress report.
Goalkeepers
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Thibaut Courtois
Normally so reliable, the Belgian played a big part in Chelsea almost dropping points in their 3-2 victory over Hull City recently.
Chelsea had been two goals to the good before Ahmed Elmohamady pulled one back. Just two minutes later, Courtois failed to deal with Branislav Ivanovic's back pass, putting the ball in the path of Abel Hernandez for a simple equaliser.
That was the bad news, but the good news was that Courtois didn't allow it to affect him, and he made amends later in the game with a hat-trick of saves in quick succession to keep the Hull attack at bay.
That was more of what we're used to seeing from him and a sign of his mental strength.
Courtois is rarely fazed, and despite his blunder, his overall performance against Hull outlined that.
He continues to show why he is expected to be the Chelsea No. 1 for the foreseeable future.
Petr Cech
It's credit to the Czech stopper that he has blurred the lines between what is expected of a back-up goalkeeper and No. 1 this season.
From seemingly being cast aside at the start of the campaign, Petr Cech has played a number of big games for Chelsea and rarely let his teammates down.
Indeed, such has been his form and influence this year that there's an argument to suggest there isn't a No. 1 at Stamford Bridge. Jose Mourinho has been confident enough to rotate the two keepers.
Cech remains a big part of this Chelsea team, and his performances have shown us that.
Courtois may be 10 years his junior, but Cech is still as reliable as the day he made his Chelsea debut.
Defenders
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John Terry
He's playing for a new one-year contract, and right now, John Terry's powers show no signs of waning.
The Chelsea captain's level of performance has been incredible all season, and his presence remains a big factor in why we're seeing Chelsea push for the title.
Sure, the team has conceded goals at times when it should be defending leads, yet that isn't something solely down to the defenders. It comes from midfield errors and players leaving themselves open to be exposed.
What we see from Terry is a player who knows everything about the game and is a driving force from the back.
The day he retires, Chelsea will need to replace him with a big character.
Gary Cahill
After that poor spell of form that started in the the new year, Gary Cahill has rediscovered his best form of late.
Jose Mourinho has spotted that too, restoring him back to the lineup as Terry's defensive partner.
In mid-January and through February, the manager had rotated Cahill with Kurt Zouma but is now showing his trust in the Englishman by playing him every week.
Cahill has done well to have played himself out of a bad patch.
Branislav Ivanovic
Without his goalscoring exploits, the Serbian could be finding himself under serious pressure for a starting berth right now.
Ivanovic has been off colour—and form—when it comes to his defensive duties, notably against Hull City, where Andy Robertson ghosted beyond him too easily before setting up Elmohamady for his goal.
It was worrying that game, and it's been a growing concern for some time.
Ivanovic is getting caught out more and more, with teams targeting him on the flank and getting joy.
He is rarely mastered, but right now, Ivanovic isn't looking the player who comes with such a mean reputation.
Cesar Azpilicueta
He was recently dropped from the Spain squad, which seems harsh on Cesar Azpilicueta, who has been one of Chelsea's best performers—not just recently, but all season.
The Spaniard may not make the headlines, but then, for a defender, that's probably a good thing.
Jose Mourinho likes him as he knows what he's going to get. Azpilicueta is a 7/10 player, one whose level of performance rarely drops and gives Chelsea a strong defensive platform.
It's why Filipe Luis has struggled to dislodge him at left-back all season.
Filipe Luis
The Brazilian must be thinking he made a mistake in joining Chelsea.
When he arrived from Atletico Madrid, the expectation was that he would be the first choice at left-back, but the form of Azpilicueta has meant otherwise.
Luis will be frustrated by that as he's not only a talented defender but has himself done little wrong whenever he has featured for Chelsea.
With limited game time recently, he did start against Hull City and was probably Chelsea's best defender.
Hull got little joy out of him, and it meant everything went down Ivanovic's right.
Kurt Zouma
Zouma has gone from young hopeful to established first-team star in just a couple of months.
If we're talking progress, nobody has made more at Chelsea since the turn of the year than Zouma.
The Frenchman has been excellent, playing in some big games and making a bigger impact at times.
Not only that, but he has filled in effectively in defensive midfield when the time has called for it, notably in the Capital One Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur.
His emergence couldn't have come at a better time, giving Chelsea another option at a vital stage of the season.
Midfielders
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It seems that with every game, Eden Hazard just gets better and better.
The Belgian gives Chelsea so much dynamism in attack and can turn a flat display into one bubbling with effervescence.
He creates goals, he scores goals, he terrorises defences—Hazard is the Premier League's most exciting attacking talent right now.
His goal against Hull City recently was majestic too, outlining that he has everything in his repertoire.
Nemanja Matic
Since his red card against Burnley, Nemanja Matic has appeared somewhat shaky.
The Serbian is still a big presence in the middle, yet he seems to have lost that air of authority we know he has.
Marco Verratti's performance for Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League was a dominant one, and Matic didn't quite get to grips with him.
And in recent outings against Southampton and Hull, the Chelsea midfield has been bypassed all too easily.
It's Matic's job to prevent that happening, and right now, he isn't.
Cesc Fabregas
We've heard so much about the end-of-season slump from Fabregas, and he seems to be in it right now.
Traditionally, Fabregas' performances at this time of year have been less productive, and the stats show it's the case at Chelsea.
The Spaniard isn't creating as many chances or assists for his teammates, nor is he making as many passes.
With his loss of form, so too have Chelsea's performances declined. They aren't beating teams convincingly, and without the influence of Fabregas to get them on the front foot, we can expect that to continue.
Fabregas added an extra dimension to Chelsea's play when he arrived from Barcelona, and in his absence, they are somewhat one-dimensional, forced to use Hazard more and more.
Hull was an encouraging display, and Chelsea need to see more of it.
Oscar
Like Fabregas before him, Oscar is enduring his own post-Christmas dip.
It happened in his first two seasons, and it's happening again.
Mourinho has noticed it, using Oscar more as an impact substitute at the moment rather than signing him.
Oscar has missed some big games, and it doesn't speak much for Mourinho's faith in him that the manager sees him as dispensable.
Willian
The Brazilian comes in for a lot of flack since his output isn't what many fans expect from him.
In this instance, the stats tell only a small part of the story where Willian is concerned.
He brings a lot of energy to this Chelsea team, which is vital when Jose Mourinho is asking his players to press teams high up the pitch.
Willian does that well, and it's why Mourinho has preferred him to the likes of Mohamed Salah and Andre Schurrle.
He brings balance to Chelsea, and now nearing the end of his second year in west London, he is a big part of this Chelsea team.
Juan Cuadrado
If anything, the Colombian has regressed since he joined Chelsea from Fiorentina this January.
Juan Cuadrado has been ineffective to the point he seems to be simply making up the numbers on the bench right now.
Mourinho has stressed that we can't judge him until next season, which is understandable, yet Chelsea need players to be performing now to see them through until the end of the campaign.
Additionally, it'll be interesting to see what the past few months have done to Cuadrado's confidence.
Will he have it in him to make an impact once he has settled into the English game?
Strikers
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Didier Drogba
The fact he is appearing less and less for Chelsea suggests that Didier Drogba's playing days are nearing an end.
We knew that when he returned to Chelsea last summer that this season would more than likely be his last as a player, and his recent displays have shown that.
Drogba is no longer capable of impacting games like he used to. He showed signs of his old self earlier in the campaign, but defenders are now relishing the challenge a little too much.
He's been a great servant, although time has caught up with him.
Diego Costa
It must be frustrating for Diego Costa as he puts in his best performance for a long while against Hull City and is then forced off injured with a hamstring strain.
Costa contributed heavily to Chelsea's 3-2 win at the KC Stadium, scoring a well-taken goal to put Chelsea in a commanding position before they very nearly threw it all away.
That was two goals in as many matches, and we were seeing him return to his best for the end of season run-in. But we're now waiting to see how long he'll be in the sidelines.
For Chelsea's sake, let's hope it's not for an extended period.
Loic Remy
For all the reasons mentioned above, Loic Remy's winner against Hull couldn't have come at a better time for the French striker.
The most important thing on the day was winning Chelsea three points, but now in the aftermath as we reflect, we see a striker brimming with confidence.
He knows he will have a shot at cementing a place in the team while Costa is on the treatment table and with his confidence up can make a big impression on Chelsea's charge for the title.
Remy hasn't featured as much as he would have liked this term, but it now seems his time has come.
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