It had
certainly had Roman Abramovich on his feet and it is probably a reason
why Mourinho talks of managing for another 20 years. When you have the
opportunity to work with players like this, why would you ever want it
to end?
That
said, Chelsea’s manager will want to address this issue of allowing
opponents to get back into a contest when his side are so dominant.
It
happened at Manchester United last weekend and it almost occurred again
here, Austin proving that if was once so in awe of John Terry he asked
to have his picture taken with Chelsea’s captain, there were no signs of
any enduring inferiority complex here.
He
produced a quite brilliant equaliser to add another chapter to the
remarkable story of his rise from non-league to the Premier League,
diverting Leroy Fer’s scuffed volley beyond the reach of Thibaut
Courtois after the Chelsea goalkeeper had punched clear a cross from
Vargas.
To
say it came against the run of play would be an understatement, even if
QPR had started the second half rather better than they performed in
the first.
But
all it took was another shift up in gear from Chelsea and they were
back in front, albeit thanks to the foolish challenge of Vargas on the
rapidly-advancing Hazard in the 75th minute. The Chilean was on the
wrong side of Hazard when he attempted to barge the Belgian off the
ball, and left Michael Jones little option but to point to the penalty
spot.
In
fairness to Chelsea, it was no less than they deserved. They had much
the better chances and enjoyed the majority of the possession, with
players like Oscar every bit as impressive for the way they tracked back
to regain the ball.
It
leaves Chelsea nine points clear of Manchester City and Arsenal, 12
ahead of Liverpool and 13 clear of Manchester United. Machine-like they
certainly are. Mesmerising too at times.
Chelsea players pause for a minute's silence in respect for Remembrance Day
QPR's starting line-up also observed the minute's silence and had poppies printed on their shirts
Chelsea right back Branislav Ivanovic and QPR centre back Steven Caulker compete for the ball
The Serbian ace keeps a close eye on Yun Suk-Young during the first half of the west London derby
Eden Hazard (right) goes down in the area under a challenge from Queens Park Rangers' Brazilian midfielder Sandro (left)
A furious looking Diego Costa exchanges words with Karl Henry as Premier League referee Mike Jones
QPR chairman Tony Fernandes watched his side take on Chelsea alongside former Rangers midfielder Ji-Sung Park
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