It wasn't a perfect portrayal, but it was close enough. The Oscars may be later tonight, but with today's display Chelsea gave encouraging signs to suggest they are working back to top form at just the right time — as the season reaches the stage where football's biggest prizes are decided.
The 2-0 victory against Stoke City ensures the Blues will go to Wembley to continue their bid to retain the FA Cup, with a semi-final tie against Aston Villa the only obstacle between them and the final. The victory came courtesy of the club's long-time leading men, Frank Lampard and John Terry, but it was a solid team performance that rendered toothless an opponent that always have the potential to cause problems.
Parallels this season can perhaps be drawn between Chelsea and the movie Avatar, with both blue behemoths having enjoyed similar seasons. Both saw seemingly unstoppable early success bring them plaudits and points in equal measure, but now they find themselves in award season — where everything is brought into sharper focus — and both seem to be struggling to convert their early success into prizes.
To continue the film metaphor, then, the Cristiano Ronaldo-less Manchester United must be The Hurt Locker; struggling initially without a world-renowned star but emerging as a well-crafted unit to gain real momentum when it matters. Both have grabbed the season's early silverware (The Carling Cup/BAFTAs) and are quickly building up an ominous head of steam in the race for the biggest prizes.
If all that can be accepted as accurate (a stretch, I know), then that must leave today's opponents, Stoke City, somewhere between a Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude van Damme film. You know what you are going to get with Tony Pulis's side, and invariably it isn't pretty.
But Stoke's direct approach is stuck with because it is effective, whatever the critics say about it, and invariably brings tangible results. But today they were not even given a look-in, as Chelsea showed why they are true A-listers.
Central defender Alex in particular gave an education in how to defend against Rory Delap's long throws, a display that went a long way to ensuring Chelsea were never in real danger of a cup shock. With their unashamedly direct approach nullified, Stoke never looked like having the wherewithal to catch the Blues on the blind side with an intricate passing move.
Lampard's long range strike was deflected past the unlucky Thomas Sorensen for the first-half opener, and then Terry met a corner to beat Sorensen with a precious second, thanks to another late Stoke touch. In between the Potters failed to cause Hilario any real problems, and at the end the home side had done as much as they could to dispel the bitter taste of last week's 4-2 league defeat at the hands of Manchester City.
"It's never easy after a defeat like we had last week. We've come back determined to put it right and I think we handled it well," Lampard said.
"We hold the trophy at the minute and we want to get back there [Wembley], simple as that."
The destination of the league title might still be up in the air, but today Chelsea showed why they are favourites among the remaining nominees to take FA Cup glory.
More importantly, with crucial games against Inter Milan and United on the horizon, they gave the sort of professional display that suggests their recent bloopers might finally be behind them.
And not a moment too soon.
The 2-0 victory against Stoke City ensures the Blues will go to Wembley to continue their bid to retain the FA Cup, with a semi-final tie against Aston Villa the only obstacle between them and the final. The victory came courtesy of the club's long-time leading men, Frank Lampard and John Terry, but it was a solid team performance that rendered toothless an opponent that always have the potential to cause problems.
Parallels this season can perhaps be drawn between Chelsea and the movie Avatar, with both blue behemoths having enjoyed similar seasons. Both saw seemingly unstoppable early success bring them plaudits and points in equal measure, but now they find themselves in award season — where everything is brought into sharper focus — and both seem to be struggling to convert their early success into prizes.
To continue the film metaphor, then, the Cristiano Ronaldo-less Manchester United must be The Hurt Locker; struggling initially without a world-renowned star but emerging as a well-crafted unit to gain real momentum when it matters. Both have grabbed the season's early silverware (The Carling Cup/BAFTAs) and are quickly building up an ominous head of steam in the race for the biggest prizes.
If all that can be accepted as accurate (a stretch, I know), then that must leave today's opponents, Stoke City, somewhere between a Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude van Damme film. You know what you are going to get with Tony Pulis's side, and invariably it isn't pretty.
But Stoke's direct approach is stuck with because it is effective, whatever the critics say about it, and invariably brings tangible results. But today they were not even given a look-in, as Chelsea showed why they are true A-listers.
Central defender Alex in particular gave an education in how to defend against Rory Delap's long throws, a display that went a long way to ensuring Chelsea were never in real danger of a cup shock. With their unashamedly direct approach nullified, Stoke never looked like having the wherewithal to catch the Blues on the blind side with an intricate passing move.
Lampard's long range strike was deflected past the unlucky Thomas Sorensen for the first-half opener, and then Terry met a corner to beat Sorensen with a precious second, thanks to another late Stoke touch. In between the Potters failed to cause Hilario any real problems, and at the end the home side had done as much as they could to dispel the bitter taste of last week's 4-2 league defeat at the hands of Manchester City.
"It's never easy after a defeat like we had last week. We've come back determined to put it right and I think we handled it well," Lampard said.
"We hold the trophy at the minute and we want to get back there [Wembley], simple as that."
The destination of the league title might still be up in the air, but today Chelsea showed why they are favourites among the remaining nominees to take FA Cup glory.
More importantly, with crucial games against Inter Milan and United on the horizon, they gave the sort of professional display that suggests their recent bloopers might finally be behind them.
And not a moment too soon.
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