In a ferociously contested first 45 minutes, Chelsea find themselves drawing 1-1 with visitors Stoke City – thanks to an incredible goal from Charlie Adam.
Affairs started rather frantically, with the Blues’ first attack of the match almost resulting in a goal. Loic Remy volleyed a low cross into the ground, forcing Asmir Begovic into a smart save as the ball looped towards his left-top corner.
From then on, it was largely one-way traffic as Chelsea relentlessly probed the Potters in the final third. A trademark jinking run from Eden Hazard, peeling in from the right to prance past three Stoke defenders before attempting to slot the ball into the far corner, lead to another impressive Begovic save.
And minutes later, some smart link-up play between Cesar Azpilicueta, Willian, Eden Hazard and Oscar found the latter a rare few yards of space inside Stoke City’s box. The Brazilian, however, struggling to get the ball out of his feet, stabbed his effort wide.
Meanwhile, the visitors’ attacks had amounted to very little. Some head-tennis around the Chelsea penalty area after 15 minutes bore no fruits, whilst Steven N’Zonzi’s long-range curler, running onto a poor penalty-box clearance from Nemanja Matic, lacked enough dip to test Thibaut Courtois.
Finally, Chelsea’s constant testing of the Stoke City defence paid off in the 37th minute. A cute pass from Willian from the right-edge of the area found Cesc Fabregas in a pocket of space; a drag-back from the Spaniard was enough to fool Phillip Woolsheid into giving away a foul – Eden Hazard, in typical nonchalance, converted for his 12th Premier League goal of the season.
Stoke looked down and out – until Charlie Adam found the courage and audacity to lob Thibaut Courtois from inside his own half. The Blues players, seemingly too concerned with a floored Eden Hazard almost switched off as the Scotland international unleashed an incredible goal-of-the-season-contending effort that dipped over the Blues No.1, – who wasn’t particularly far off his line.
Chelsea will be disappointed with their scoreline but they’ve done little wrong so far, controlling the match with 65% possession. Stoke, meanwhile, will find a renewed sense of confidence for the second half from that stunning Adam strike. Here’s a look at the goal: