Super Eagles of Nigeria midfielder, John Obi Mikel, scored a rare goal on his 300th Chelsea appearance as the Blues beat Derby 2-0 at Pride Park.
After a boring first half performance, Mikel opened the scoring with a fine header. The goal seemed to bring Chelsea back to life as Derby had to endure unrelenting pressure in the final stages.
Oscar sealed victory for Jose Mourinho’s team with less than 20 minutes to the end of regulation time.
Jose Mourinho made six changes to the side that faced Southampton on New Year’s Day, but showed respect to the FA Cup by fielding a strong side led by Cameroonian striker Samuel Eto’o.
Despite the wealth of talent at Mourinho’s use, his Chelsea side struggled to break down the stubborn Derby defence and was, for the most part, forced into efforts from distance.
Chelsea had a glorious opportunity to take the lead when Mikel fed Eto’o to go through one-on-one with Lee Grant.
But Eto’o failed to show the pace which helped to make him a prolific and feared striker at Barcelona and Inter Milan and Derby’s defence were able to cover.
This is Mikel’s 2nd goal this season. On September 21, 2013, Mikel scored his first ever Premier League goal in his 185th top-flight appearance to complete a 2–0 win against Fulham.
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