5 Things We Learned from Chelsea vs. Norwich City

It was another difficult victory for Chelsea, but Andre Villas-Boas will be happy that his squad secured the three points.

Norwich City provided a stern test for the Blues, and Chelsea needed a penalty and a late goal to secure victory over the Premier League upstarts.

The match report does not tell the whole story in this match as Chelsea struggled throughout and often looked in danger against a very physical attacking display from Grant Holt and company.

However, the match did provide insight into some aspects of Chelsea's squad and tactics moving forward.

Here is an analysis of the five things that Chelsea vs. Norwich City taught us about Chelsea F.C.

1. Jose Bosingwa Is Fighting to Make the RB Position His Own

Jose Bosingwa, the brunt of much criticism for his tendency to waste possession through the first three matches, had a stellar match at RB, and he has made a strong case for making the position his own.

Bosingwa faces much competition this season as Chelsea's defense is loaded with talent on the right side.

Ivanovic has been Chelsea's most consistent performer over the past few seasons and will likely be the man that Bosingwa has to dethrone. Paulo Ferreira is aging, but he had an excellent preseason and looked effective in Villas-Boas's new tactical scheme. David Luiz has been rumored as a potential candidate for the RB position due to his attacking prowess and his relative unreliability in the challenge at center half.

While all of this is true, Bosingwa has three starts in three matches, and his performance today was a thriller. His goal was wonderful and proved to be the only bright spot in an otherwise dull first-half performance from Chelsea.

If he can cut out his errors and improve his ability to maintain possession, Bosingwa can and should be the starting RB for Chelsea moving forward.

2. Chelsea's Defense Is Far Less Imposing Without Petr Cech

Chelsea has what is widely considered the best defensive corps in the world (with a few shouts from Real Madrid and other clubs, I am sure). While the offensive nous of the squad has been up and down in recent years, the defense has been a constant standby.

With Petr Cech knocked out for the next month due to injury, Chelsea's defense has been shaky at best in the past few matches.

Against Norwich City, Hilario had a few excellent saves in the first half, but his howler in the second half gifted Grant Holt his first goal of the season. Throughout the match, Hilario looked indecisive when coming out to challenge the ball, and he absolutely refused to boot the ball down field from goal kicks.

Hilario is experienced and overall a solid keeper, but it is obvious that, without Petr Cech at the back, Chelsea's normally unshakable defense has been exposed time and time again.

The less talented squads in the Premier League table often rely on long-ball tactics to get the ball out of defense and up to a solitary striker quickly. These long balls necessitate excellent communication between the keeper and the defensive line, and unless Chelsea's defensive communication improves quickly, the squad will continue to give up unnecessary chances.

3. Andre Villas-Boas Cannot Decide on a Formation

Andre Villas-Boas has brought a new mindset and new personnel into Chelsea, and it will take time for his changes to take effect. Everybody understands that the Premier League is a difficult league for a new manager, and almost everybody needs some time to adjust.

The major problem with Villas-Boas so far is that he suffers from a problem that is the exact opposite of that of Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea's manager of a year ago. Ancelotti would not alter his formation under any circumstances, and in turn his squad was strong but predictable.

In contrast Villas-Boas cannot quit changing his formation and tactics, and it is obviously confusing his squad.

Villas-Boas began the season with a 4-3-3, with Torres leading the attack. Today, he instead utilized a 4-4-2 formation, with Torres and Drogba pairing up in the attack.

The confusion was apparent throughout the match.

Drogba essentially took over the space up top, forcing Torres out into the wings and the midfield, where he was essentially useless except for his passing. Drogba looked slow and ineffective in his first start of the season. Lampard, who has been made anonymous by the manager's tactics so far, was again silent in midfield, only appearing to convert a penalty late in the proceedings.

The manager will certainly ask for flexibility from his squad, and the new signings will help him to achieve this flexibility to some degree.

Most importantly, however, Villas-Boas needs to come to some sort of solution as to what type of team tactics he wants to employ.

If he does not, the current chaos and confusion will not abate, and Chelsea will continue to struggle in the attacking half.

4. Lukaku Is Going to Get More Playing Time Than Expected

(Note: At the time of writing, no details are known about the extent of Drogba's injury.)

Due to Didier Drogba's terrible injury, I would assume that he will be out for some period of time.

This means that our new signing, Romelu Lukaku, will get the chance to ply his trade immediately. He earned playing time today, and there were a few points of interest about his performance.

First, he is obviously enormous. It was shocking to see how he dwarfed many of the Norwich City defenders, and his size will obviously be a huge bonus in the physical Premier League. He played with his back to goal very efficiently, and he was able to shrug off defenders with ease on his turns toward goal.

For someone with such physical size, Lukaku is fairly agile, as well. He even showed a few step-overs in the corner, which he had been known to perform at his former club, RSC Anderlecht.

The major areas that Lukaku will need to improve upon are his awareness, his fitness, and his speed.

He was caught unawares on multiple occasions by Norwich defenders, which can be forgiven because of the rainy conditions and the fact that it was his debut in the league. He looked fairly plodding on his runs, and I swear that he was panting and out of breath after his very first run towards goal.

However, these should not be major problems once the Chelsea training staff gets hold of him and trains him to meet the rigorous conditioning standards of the Premier League.

All in all I was pleased with Lukaku's initial performance, and he will be needed immediately if Drogba is to be out for any period of time.

5. Juan Mata Is Just the Player That Chelsea Needed

Juan Mata's first Chelsea performance was short lived, but he certainly electrified Stamford Bridge with his guile and determination on the field.

Every touch was excellent, and despite the rainy conditions, almost all of his passes were spot on.

He roamed from wing to wing, even playing down the center at times. He linked up effectively with Lampard, Anelka, Lukaku, Cole, and Bosingwa all over the pitch, and his pass to release Ramires on an attacking chance was an absolute beauty.

After some tricky play and subsequent defensive pressure by Bosingwa on the right flank, a Norwich City defender lost the ball. Mata pounced on it immediately, took one deft touch inside the box, and tucked the ball away calmly, curling it passed the outstretched arms of the keeper.

Mata's debut was invigorating for the Chelsea faithful. In a short, 30-minute display, Mata's pace and creativity changed the dynamic of the game and dramatically improved Chelsea's creativity and chances.

Obviously, the red card helped, but the positivity in Chelsea's attack was evident even before the penalty, with Lampard back-heeling a pass to Mata in the attacking third before Mata put in a dangerous cross that Torres nearly finished.

All in all it was an ugly performance from Chelsea, but there are many bright spots to look forward to this season.