“Change was needed even before half-time to stop Chelsea‘s flow because, let’s face it, they were annihilating us at the time and we were never getting out of our own half”. You’d think that would satiate fans, but it only made them more frustrated, as the team showed it’s capable of a top performance.
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Chelsea’s Loic Remy, left, competes for the ball with Sunderland’s Billy Jones during the En …
Allardyce had admitted a Chelsea resurgence in Saturday’s Premier League clash immediately after Jose Mourinho’s sacking could have proved a “sad indictment” of modern player power.
Hiddink, 69, had a caretaker spell in charge at Stamford Bridge in 2009 when Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari was sacked and Chelsea went on to reach the Champions League semi-finals and win the FA Cup under his care.
Goals from Branislav Ivanovic, Pedro Rodriguez and Oscar, with a penalty, saw Chelsea end a three-game winless league run against the backdrop of a peculiar atmosphere.
The Spain internationals had their names jeered when read out by the stadium announcer before kickoff and again when they were substituted in the second half. A fan banner also accused the Spanish pair and Eden Hazard of being “the 3 rats”.
I am excited to return to Stamford Bridge, Hiddink was quoted as saying in a statement on Chelsea’s website.
“If the players compete like they did today (Saturday), there will be no reason why the supporters won’t be happy with that”.
Manchester United were booed off at halftime and full time at Old Trafford where they trailed to goals from Norwich’s Cameron Jerome and Alex Tettey before Anthony Martial replied for the misfiring Reds.
They were chanting when Willian took a corner after five minutes and they briefly ended it to cheer as Branislav Ivanovic got in front of Sebastian Coates and headed into the top corner.
“Where were you when you were (expletive)?”
Chelsea kept on piling up the pressure as Ivanovic, Pedro and Diego Costa came close to increasing the lead in the first half.
Mahrez now has 13 league goals this season, the same as Lukaku, and two behind team mate Jamie Vardy, who combined with Mahrez to earn the second penalty.
“It was on the cards quite honestly”, Peter Fletcher, 67, who has been watching Chelsea since the late 1960s.
Sub Fabio Borini pulled one back soon after, however, and Chelsea looked shaky in the closing stages.
“We are going day by day and game by game”.
Tottenham Hotspur took advantage of United’s woes to move into fourth place thanks to a 2-0 win at Southampton while Crystal Palace remain sixth after a 2-1 win at Stoke City.
Now Hiddink’s second Chelsea reign begins.
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Holland said he had met Hiddink, who watched the game alongside owner Roman Abramovich and former striker Didier Drogba, briefly in the dressing room and said he hoped to work well with the Dutchman.
