by Virus Sat Nov 03, 2012 1:33 am
Since Chelsea last played Swansea, our 1-1 draw at the Liberty Stadium back in January, the Welsh club has looked south and taken on a very La Liga look.
It is nothing new in that part of the football world. During Roberto Martinez's 18 months in charge there he also signed Spanish players, but this summer following the departure of Brendan Rodgers, Swansea recruited Michael Laudrup who has a mighty history in the Spanish game, plus four players directly from Spanish clubs.
Ahead of this weekend's meeting with the Swans, Juan Mata gave the official Chelsea website the lowdown on the players who have crossed the Pyrenees to the Premier League, including some he knows especially well.
Pablo Hernandez, like Mata, was signed from Valencia.
'Pablo is one of my best friends in football,' Mata reveals about the 27-year-old.
'I was with him three years at Valencia and I was sharing my room with him for two years. We used to go on holiday together and we used to play golf together. He is a better golf player than me.
'As a football player he is a right winger, he has pace, he has quality and can cross and score goals. He used to play in the national team as well, when we were in the Confederations Cup three years ago.
'He asked me how it was playing in the Premier League and I said positive things about this, and about this country, and I think he is very happy here. He is enjoying his life in Wales and has Spanish friends there as well and he is learning English. I think it is a very good step for him in his life.'
MIchu, currently Swansea's top scorer in the league with six goals, is another player with whom Mata has a close relationship.
They are from the same city and grew up in the academy of the same club, Real Oviedo, although not together as Michu is one year older.
'He did really good things last season in the Spanish league, scoring 15 goals at Rayo Vallecano which was the best for a midfielder.
'So far he is doing very well at Swansea, he is scoring and is playing like a number 9. So he has settled down in the Premier League very well.
'Chico Flores is a central defender and I played with him in the Under-21 national team. We played together in a play-off to be qualified for the European Championships and he has experience because he used to play in Italy as well.'
Chico is rated an injury doubt for tomorrow's game but another Spanish defender, Angel Rangel is set to play. He was a Martinez signing who remains. Former Dutch Under-21 international midfielder Jonathan de Guzman joined this summer on loan from Villarreal.
'De Guzman used to play in Mallorca and when I played against him he was a very dynamic midfielder with the quality to play and to defend as well,' recalls Mata. 'He played for Michael Laudrup at Mallorca.
'Rangel has played for a long time at Swansea and knows this country very well and for me he is one of the most consistent full-backs in the league.'
Finally Mata spoke about Laudrup, one of a select band of players to be a success at both Barcelona and Real Madrid. In his first year as a manager in Spain he took Getafe to the final of Copa del Rey where they lost to Valencia for whom Mata scored.
'Michael was one of the best European footballers in history and the way he used to play, he is trying to include it now in his teams,' says Mata.
'They like to play with the ball from the back and not with the long balls.
'Last season at Swansea they played well against us, they moved the ball so quickly and nearly won. They changed players, changed manager but they are doing more or less the same this season. The idea is the same.'
---
The first game in November sees Chelsea go west, looking to stay top of the pile. Club historian Rick Glanvill and club statistician Paul Dutton switch their attention from cup to league…
TALKING POINTS
Chelsea's unbeaten runs in the Champions League and Barclays Premier League were ended in consecutive games over the last 10 days, so a return to winning ways on Wednesday was timely.
The manner of the success over Manchester United - coming from behind three times, scoring a hatful and never giving up - is becoming a hallmark of this Chelsea side. Late goals have also served the team well. The three on Wednesday brought to eight the total notched from the 80th minute onwards this season.
The Blues' back four has also weighed in with an impressive 13 goals this season. Gary Cahill (pictured below) now has five to his name and is behind only Juan Mata (seven) and Fernando Torres (six) on the top scorers list.
KEY STAT
Chelsea are averaging 2.6 goals per game this season with 14 different scorers. We have scored 20 in our last six matches in all competitions.
However, ahead of this weekend's trip to Wales, the number of goals our leaky defence has conceded domestically has suffered upward inflation: one, two, three, and now four goals on the spin, and no clean sheet in five matches in all competitions.
Saturday's hosts Swansea, buoyed by their own triumph at Anfield on Wednesday, have likewise not prevented the opposition scoring at the Liberty since West Ham visited in August.
That 3-0 demolition of the Hammers moved Michael Laudrup's team to top slot before three straight losses deposed them to 11th, where they remain. The concerned Dane emphasised the need to start home games especially well, but they have not hit the net in the first hour of a game at the Liberty since.
Chelsea's 5-4 extra-time win over Man United avoided a run of three successive defeats for the first time since almost exactly a decade ago under Claudio Ranieri. It also added another match to the Blues' bulging pre-Christmas schedule.
Our League Cup quarter-final away to time-honoured foes Leeds United, is delayed till 19 December, just two days after the squad's return flight from the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan lands in the UK.
The total of games to be played before the end of the year now rises to 16 in eight weeks. No one is complaining - it is a signal of success - but the physical demands on playing staff is mirrored by financial ones on supporters in straitened times.
It is all the more impressive, then, that Swansea and West Brom away, Liverpool, Man City and Shakhtar at home have all sold out, with others presently available almost certain to follow suit. More than 600 tickets have already been sold to Chelsea's intrepid Club World Cup pioneers.
Everton received a Capital One Cup allocation of five thousand at Elland Road this season; Southampton were offered three thousand. Such has been the enthusiasm among Chelsea fans for the Leeds trip - the first there since December 2003 - there is certain to be huge demand for a seat.
---
Roberto Di Matteo reports that Juan Mata (hamstring) and David Luiz (ankle) are major injury doubts for Saturday afternoon's game away to Swansea.
Ashley Cole has recovered from a swollen ankle and is available.
The manager also says Wednesday's Champions League match at home to Shakhtar Donetsk will come too soon for Frank Lampard to have overcome his calf injury.
[40%] 
I was just asking cos I think it's stupid to make threads for games that aren't on tv. 
I was just asking cos I think it's stupid to make threads for games that aren't on tv. 
