Mata Hengkang, Chelsea Tetap Tajam Tekuk Stoke City 1-0
No Mata No Problem, Chelsea 1 Stoke City 0
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
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London (B2B) - Lewat tendangan bebas indah, Oscar mengantarkan Chelsea yang baru saja ditinggalkan Juan Mata menang 1-0 atas Stoke City pada babak keempat Piala FA beberapa menit lalu.
Pemain Brazil itu mengisi posisi yang ditinggalkan Mata sebagai playmaker utama Chelsea dan kualitas golnya membuktikan mengapa manajer Jose Mourinho menghargainya demikian tinggi.
The Blues gagal menggandakan gol Oscar di babak pertama itu setelah dua kali membentur tiang gawang, namun itu tak menjadi soal karena Stoke pun jarang mengancam Chelsea, seperti dilansir Yahoo News.
Chelsea akan bertandang ke seteru beratnya di Liga Premier Manchester City pada babak kelima.
Mourinho mengistirahatkan sejumlah pemain seniornya termasuk John Terry dan Petr Cech, namun keputusannya mengikutsertakan Samuel Eto dalam starting line-up mengejutkan.
Penyerang ini menciptakan trigol saat menang 3-1 dari Manchester United tujuh hari sebelumnya. Banyak yang menyangka Mourinho akan mengistirahatkan Eto´o untuk digantikan Demba Ba.
Namun Eto´o segera membayar kepercayaan Mourinho itu dengan diantaranya memicu pelanggaran yang membuat Oscar mampu memecah kebuntuan lewat gaya yang spektakuler.
Oscar nyaris mencetak gol kedua ketika dia menusuk ke wilayah kiper Stoke Asmir Begovic dan melepaskan tendangan keras namun melenceng ke kanan gawang. Lalu Andre Schurrle berada di posisi mirip namun tendangannya membentur tiang gawang.
Stoke tak memberikan perlawanan berarti dan nyaris saja memungut bola kedua kalinya jika saja tendangan Eto´o tak melenceng dari gawang.
London - Oscar helped Chelsea draw a line beneath Juan Mata´s departure with a fine free-kick in a 1-0 win over Stoke City in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday.
The Brazilian had dislodged Mata from his position as Chelsea´s main playmaker, prompting the Spaniard to join Manchester United, and the quality of his goal demonstrated why manager Jose Mourinho rates him so highly.
The Blues failed to add to Oscar´s first-half effort despite hitting the woodwork twice, although it was a largely comfortable victory, with Stoke rarely threatening to score an equaliser and force a replay.
Chelsea´s reward is a mouthwatering fifth-round trip to Premier League rivals Manchester City.
Mourinho opted to rest a number of senior players including John Terry and Petr Cech, but his decision to include Eto´o in his starting line-up raised eyebrows.
The forward scored a hat-trick in the 3-1 victory over Manchester United seven days previously, but the manager had been expected to rest Eto´o and hand Demba Ba a rare start.
However, Eto´o wasted little time justifying Mourinho´s decision, quickly imposing himself on the Stoke back-line and drawing the foul that allowed Oscar to break the deadlock in spectacular style.
Oscar should have added a second goal when he broke into Begovic´s area and beat the goalkeeper with a powerful shot that cannoned to safety off the upright. And Chelsea maintained their momentum after the break when Andre Schurrle found himself in a similar position before firing against the crossbar.
Stoke offered little in return and could have been on the end of a more comprehensive defeat if Eto´o had not missed from close range late on, while Ramires had a penalty appeal turned down.
