After a decidedly lackluster performance at Istanbul, Chelsea fans had more to cheer about over the weekend when they romped to a 3-1 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage. However, it wasn’t just the victory that was celebrated, but rather the emergence of German midfielder Andre Schurrle with an amazing hat trick.
For a while now, many have been tempted to write off the midfielder, who was signed for £18 million from Bayer Leverkusen over the summer. Matter of fact, this was his first start after a few weeks and it came right before the Cheltenham Festival kicks off too.
The midfielder himself has acknowledged that he has found adjusting to the English game difficult, particularly the physical aspect of it. Following advice from manager Jose Mourinho, he apparently has been spending the last few months working on building up his own physique – and over the weekend that certainly seemed to pay off. After the Fulham win, Schurrle said:
“We [Schurrle and Mourinho] talked a lot, of course. He told me I needed to change, to change my game and my body, and that is what I have done over the last two months.
“I have really worked very hard to be aggressive, to be in a good shape with my body. Now I’m ready to play more often.
“I did a lot in the gym, but I wanted to do this, I needed to do this. The manager told me it as well, I wanted to change and I think I have.”
Already his performance has earned him accolades from the fans – but whether or not he will sustain that remains to be seen. It is now becoming apparent why Chelsea were willing to part with a decent chunk of money for the midfielder, and if he is able to come to grips with the English game there could certainly be greatness in store.
Personally, Schurrle is confident that he will be able to do both his club and country proud. He already looks to be a part of Germany’s World Cup plans having also bagged a hat-trick for them against Sweden, and is probably going to play a bigger role in Chelsea’s campaign from here on out too.
Chelsea have now secured a commanding position in the league with a four-point gap over their closest rivals, and we will undoubtedly to widen it over the next few weekends! Assuming Schurrle is able to continue to play the way he has been and hook up with brilliant Belgian Eden Hazard even more in the coming weeks – there should be a lot more goals to come too!
Schurrle has six goals in 28 appearances – although most of them were as a substitute. He still has to produce more such performances to move ahead of Oscar and Willian in the pecking order.
For now, the midfielder has certainly silenced the cynics, and he is well on the way to proving his worth and cementing his position in Chelsea’s midfield. Considering how versatile he is, he may even eventually take up a more central role compared to the one that he has starred in so far.
If he had been taken off at half-time, as his absolutely appalling first half display deserved, we’d never have seen this “emergence” you talk of. Instead you’d be talking of his uselessness.
Personally, I’d say the finishing was no better than any number of the goals scored on Hackney Marshes the same weekend. It was the creation of the chances that was outstanding, primarily by Hazard.
Agreed. I doubt if Jose would have kept him on if this was a match against Arsenal or City. Anyway, he’s done well. Let’s hope for more.