Dubai: Chelsea’s 2-1 win away to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday shows the Blues are still strong despite their slow start to the season and having lost star-striker Diego Costa, according to the club’s former midfielder Deco.
The Premier League holders are third in the table, three points behind Manchester City and Manchester United after six games, having lost their opener 3-2 at home to Burnley, and drawing 0-0 at home to Arsenal two weeks ago.
It was feared the drama surrounding Costa’s forced move to Atletico Madrid after a public spat with boss Antonio Conte might have distracted the London club and left them devoid of a 20-goal a season striker, but Deco says Wednesday’s win proves that it’s business as usual and that Alvaro Morata, who joined Chelsea from Real Madrid for £58 million over the summer, is a more than adequate replacement.
“Once you’ve won the league it is normal that the other teams know how to play against you,” said Deco, who is playing in the Premier Futsal finals for Hyderabad’s Telugu Tigers at Dubai’s Al Wasl Club every night from 6pm this week until Sunday, alongside Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Ronaldinho, Hernan Crespo and Michel Salgado.
“The other teams are better now because they brought in a lot of players in at United and City, but Chelsea won last season because they played good football.
“It’s more difficult to win the second time but they can do it for sure,” added the Portuguese, who scored six goals in 57 appearances for Chelsea over two seasons from 2008 to 2010 winning one Premier League title and two FA Cups.
“Diego Costa was a very important player and Nemanja Matic too,” he added in reference to Matic also leaving for Manchester United over the summer. “It’s important that when you lose a fantastic player that the players who come in adapt well and Morata has adapted very well and is a fantastic player.
“Costa was important for the way Chelsea played last season, and Morata is a different type of player, but he has started the first few games very well,” Deco said of Morata, who scored the equaliser on Wednesday and has so far scored seven in eight for the Stamford Bridge club over all competitions.
“Chelsea are still strong, like last season. They won at Atletico, which is important and gives you confidence for the rest of the competition.
“It’s difficult to say if Chelsea can catch Manchester City and Manchester United in the league. The Premier League is a very difficult competition, it’s so tough and complicated. In my opinion there are two Premier Leagues in the same season. In the winter, games are more difficult, especially around Boxing Day, which can be complicated for clubs. We never know what can happen, but what I do know is that Chelsea are strong like City, United and Tottenham, and that Chelsea can win it for sure.”
