Chelsea 0 QPR 1: It’s a Mata of fact that Chelsea look lost without their talisman

Benitez’s decision to start match with Spaniard on the bench backfires as his side suffer a shock defeat which all but ends title hopes
4 January 2013

For the first time since he took charge of Chelsea in November, Rafael Benitez’s name was sung with gusto by happy fans at Stamford Bridge.

Unfortunately for the Spaniard, the backing last night was coming from delirious Queens Park Rangers supporters who were keen to pay tribute to the man who had helped make their first victory at the home of their fierce rivals for 30 years possible.

Once the team-sheets were handed in prior to kick-off, Rangers had cause for optimism because Juan Mata was named on Chelsea’s bench.

Other key men such as Ramires, Eden Hazard and Ashley Cole were alongside him but Mata has been Chelsea’s most important player this season and the home side looked lost without their talisman.

Whenever Mata has not started a game or played this term — this being the sixth occasion — the Blues have failed to win. QPR also capitalised on his absence earlier in the campaign when they drew 0-0 draw at Loftus Road.

Benitez is rightfully concerned about the Spain midfielder suffering from fatigue with so many games in the campaign left to play. He has made 30 appearances already and shown some signs of slowing down of late. However, even when not at his best, the 24-year-old makes Chelsea tick.

The statistics barely do his contribution to the cause justice, yet they make impressive reading. So far this season the club’s official statistician credits him with 16 assists as well as 13 goals and he is sure to be on the shortlist alongside Robin van Persie for Player of the Year in May.

Only last week Mata downplayed fears he was suffering from fatigue and insisted he wanted to remain in the first XI. Instead, Benitez chose the worst possible moment to ignore his compatriot’s wishes.

There seemed to be more obvious opportunities to give him a rest than this west London derby. Southampton in the FA Cup third round on Saturday or even the first leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final against Swansea next week would have presented more obvious opportunities for the £23.5million man.

Before kick-off, Chelsea still had slim hopes of catching Manchester United in the title race but surely they have now been left with a battle just to finish in the top four.

They are 14 points behind United and champions don’t tend to pick up just one point from two matches against the team at the bottom of the League.

Talk that Benitez was winning the fans over was premature, yet after this limp display he is certainly back to being enemy No1. Benitez was not helped by his strange team selection. Perhaps he’d seen a video of QPR’s hapless display in the 3-0 defeat against Liverpool on Sunday and thought victory was assured even without his best player.

But with counterpart Harry Redknapp promising QPR would adopt a conservative, disciplined approach in his pre-match press conference, Mata’s presence on the pitch was vital.

Rangers’ players stuck to the game-plan to perfection, rarely crossing the half-way line and frustrating the home side for long periods by making tackle after tackle.

It’s on occasions such as these, with little space to exploit in the final third, that Mata’s creativity is required and yet he was watching from the sidelines.Perhaps even more damning was the fact Benitez could see how ineffective Chelsea were without Mata and yet he brought him on as a substitute with only 15 minutes to go.

Even in that short time Mata supplied two of the best crosses into the box the home fans had seen all evening but neither Fernando Torres nor Branislav Ivanovic could take advantage.

QPR’s finely-executed goal by former Chelsea winger Shaun Wright-Phillips, set up by man-of-the-match Adel Taarabt with a beautiful lay-off, came three minutes after Mata’s introduction but the Spaniard could not be blamed for the goal or Rangers having such self-belief at that stage.

Wright-Phillips certainly gave a strong hint that Benitez’s decision to rotate had given the visitors a major boost.When asked if was surprised by Chelsea’s starting line-up, he said: “Yes but I am a player not a manager. It bewilders me as much as everybody else.

“Chelsea have a great team and a great squad. They have had loads of games and sometimes players need to be rested but is it the right choice?”

Mata cannot play every game and those who were in the starting XI should be castigated for their lack of desire and intensity, particularly in the opening 45 minutes.

If Chelsea are to achieve anything this season, they have to learn to win without Mata because he cannot be the difference all of the time.

But Chelsea’s self-inflicted problems should not take away from QPR’s fine display and suddenly hope of a great escape in 2013 is back on. Unfortunately, they won’t be able to count on too many opposition managers like Benitez giving them a helping hand.

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