After Chelsea made it four league wins in a row with victory at Norwich City, we take a closer statistical look at the key numbers and talking points from another success on the road…
It was a brilliant start as Trevoh Chalobah headed us in front after just three minutes before Mason Mount’s superb finish high into the net doubled the lead with a quarter of an hour played.
Yet we dropped down the gears in the second half and Norwich improved, Teemu Pukki halving the deficit from the penalty spot after a VAR-awarded handball went against Chalobah. The scoreline was given the touch of comfort our performance had deserved though when Kai Havertz netted for the fifth time in six games to seal another three points.
Another game of two halves
Just like at Burnley on Saturday, this was an away game of contrasting fortunes either side of the interval for the Blues, albeit in reverse from the action at Turf Moor. Whereas Thomas Tuchel’s side were reinvigorated after the break in Lancashire, this outing saw us start brightly out of the blocks and race into a two-goal lead inside 15 minutes.
It was the first time we had established such an advantage at that stage of a game since our 4-1 win at Crystal Palace last April and it set the tone for a first half in which we had 73 per cent possession and 10 shots compared to Norwich’s two.
Mount and Havertz combined for half of those efforts on goal, ending the first 45 minutes with a goal and two assists between them, before the German went on to net our third late in the game, the first time this season he’s both scored and assisted in the same game.
It took Havertz up to 10 Chelsea goals for the season, beating his tally from 2020/21. Mount, meanwhile, moves clear as our outright top league scorer this term with eight, and has assisted or scored every 107 minutes in the Premier League.
Things were a little different after half-time as our possession fell to 59 per cent and we had half as many efforts on goal, with our combined key defensive actions (tackles, interceptions and clearances) up from 12 to 31.
Right side of attack
With Christian Pulisic missing out through illness, there was a place in the starting line-up for Timo Werner on the left, although much of our attacking was sent down the opposite flank, with Cesar Azpilicueta (in for Reece James before his withdrawal at half-time) operating much higher than fellow wing-back Saul.
Havertz and Mount also lent towards to that side of the pitch, with an attack from that area proving key in our late third goal. In fact, 40 per cent of our attacking was directed down the right.
The visitors also enjoyed success in turning the ball over quickly in midfield and higher up the field, typifying our energy and intensity out of possession. We were able to convert that into high-quality chances too and finished the game with an xG (not including the Norwich penalty) five times higher than Dean Smith’s side.
Mason on the money
Mount loves playing with the Canaries and so it proved again in Norfolk as the midfielder scored and assisted in a generally impressive all-round performance. He has now scored more goals against Norwich than he has against any other side in his career, with six in five matches.
The 23-year-old netted a hat-trick against them earlier in the season and scored his first ever Chelsea away goal at Carrow Road in August 2019 so it was no surprise he started the game with confidence and commitment right from the start.
He successfully retrieved possession on four occasions and won the same number of duels, while on the ball his game-high 30 passes in the final third helped create five chances for the Blues and four shots for himself, both also unmatched in the contest. The one that went in, teed up by Havertz, was his first since mid-December and his 25th for the club.
After claiming in his post-match interviews that the players had found it difficult to focus at times this week due to off-field distractions, there was certainly no evidence of that in the midfielder’s eye-catching performance.
Thiago at the back
While Havertz and Mount were able to cause problems at one end of the field, Thiago Silva’s reassuring presence at the back once again provided the foundations from which the whole team built.
The Brazilian claimed an incredible 11 per cent ball possession just by himself, had 133 touches and completed 94 per cent of his 122 attempted passes, all game-high figures by some distance.
Similarly, only Trevoh Chalobah matched his five clearances as the veteran defender showed the other side of his game in the second half when Norwich upped their attacking intent.
Despite conceding from the spot to spoil our clean sheet, we still have the second-best defensive record in the Premier League this season (19 goals conceded in 27 games). That has also helped extend our lead over fifth-placed Manchester United to nine points with a game in hand.