Sport
Willian a rare bright note in poor Chelsea season
Willian a rare bright note in poor Chelsea season. There have not been many positives for Chelsea to take from their opening 12 matches of the Premier League campaign. The defending champions were widely tipped to win a second consecutive title this term but, less than a third of the way into the season, those hopes lie in tatters.
The best the Blues can realistically now manage is a Champions League placing; that, though, also appears extremely unlikely, with Jose Mourinho’s side already trailing Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United in fourth by 13 points.
Key players look a shadow of their former selves, while Mourinho has also been heavily questioned for the first time in his managerial career.
Indeed, there is probably only one bright note that can be unanimously agreed upon: the terrific form of forward Willian.
The Brazilian moved to Stamford Bridge from Anzhi Makhachkala in the summer of 2013 for a fee of £30 million. His debut campaign was solid if not spectacular: Willian established himself as a one of Mourinho’s favourites for his work ethic, intelligence and appreciation of the collective, but he was not really a constant source of creativity or invention for a Chelsea outfit who finished the Premier League season in third place.
Having made 18 top-flight starts in 2013/14, Willian began 28 games the following year, appearing in 36 Premier League fixtures in total. The signing of Juan Cuadrado from Fiorentina in January did not affect the former Shakhtar Donetsk man’s place in the team, with Willian also featuring a further 13 times in the Champions League, FA Cup and Capital One Cup.
The difference this season is that Willian has taken centre stage for the first time. Eden Hazard was deservedly crowned PFA and FWA Player of the Year last term, with the Belgian widely seen as Chelsea’s difference-maker and Willian as the hard-worker on the opposite flank whose contributions were important but not particularly eye-catching or decisive. Indeed, the Brazil international managed just two goals and three assists in the league, rather low tallies considering he was deployed in an attacking role in a side that won the championship so comfortably.
This time around, however, Willian has become Chelsea’s go-to forward; with Hazard suffering a dip in form, the 27-year-old has assumed the creative mantle and is now seen as the player most likely to be responsible for a game-changing intervention. He has already scored four times from direct free-kicks in the Premier League and Champions League – Willian has now replaced Hazard as Chelsea’s primary set-piece taker – and also frequently been the Blues’ most impressive performer from open play.
“That’s my dream, to become player of the year, to win the World Cup, to be a legend at Chelsea,” Willian said recently when asked about the Ballon d’Or. There is a long way to go before he is even considered for such awards, but his start to the campaign has been one of the few positive aspects of the Premier League champions’ last three months. Already well-liked by Mourinho, Willian has now become one of the Stamford Bridge faithful’s favourite players too.
