Benitez finally caught a break after constantly being targeted for heavy criticism from all sides. Chelsea’s great 1-0 win against rivals Man United was even more satisfying considering it led to the elimination of Ferguson’s team from the FA Cup. Demba Ba scored an amazing goal and will probably be the first choice for Benitez for the rest of the season as far as strikers go.
In post-match comments, Benitez stated that their win against United is another great accomplishment in an excellent season. That got people pretty confused, but made them realize that the Spaniard did not have high hopes for this season from the start. A team of Chelsea’s stature should consider missing the chance to win the Premier League and Champions League as major failures. Having a coach who considers the 2012-2013 as a great season, should definitely raise some questions. It is obvious that the fact Benitez did not sign a permanent deal with the Blues affected his way of motivating both himself and his players.
The semi-final of the FA cup will take place on the 14th of April. Chelsea will have to face the toughest adversary left in the competition. Manchester City will face the Blues at Wembley to decide who is going to the final. Chelsea should be more than motivated to retain this trophy considering they were eliminated from the Champions League and that their place in next year’s competition remains uncertain. Fancy the Blues’ chances? Check out Unibet codes for a bonus.
Benitez also spoke about their chances of finishing in the final four. He sounded more than optimistic saying that he is very happy with the fact that his team is still involved in 2 cup competitions and have a great chance of finishing in the top three in the league.
Chelsea’s next match is against Rubin Kazan in the Europa League. It is their third match in just six days. According to recent statistics, Chelsea have had the busiest season in history currently counting more than 50 official fixtures since the beginning of the season.
In other news it looks like Ashley Cole, will be out for at least two weeks because of a hamstring injury.