Naturally, visitors to Stamford Bridge have to think of how they are going to keep out the hosts as well as how they themselves can score. In Wilson Palacios and Steven Nzonzi, Stoke had two players who offered good protection to the back four and played a prominent role in keeping Chelsea to just one goal. However, when in possession issues began to rear their heads. Palacios has never been known for his passing ability, as fans of Wigan and Tottenham will attest, while Nzonzi looks to be suffering from a lack of confidence as he often resorted to the safe yet uncreative passing options, typically playing the ball backwards rather than raise his head and look to drive his team forward. In older times, Stoke would have resorted to going direct quickly and that might have been worth a go as the game reached its conclusion, but instead Chelsea played out the final few minutes in comfort. Credit should go to Hughes for implementing a better style of football, but that should make Stoke rigid to one style.
