Florent Malouda continued to go from strength to strength in 2009/10, building on his solid finish to the previous campaign.
The Frenchman made Carlo Ancelotti's early selections and by the end had cemented his place in the starting line up. He was instrumental in a number of historic wins and netted 15 goals throughout an industrious campaign.
That was an important measurement of his abilities but just as vital were the assists. Malouda helped set up 12 of Chelsea's League goals, including his cross which Joe Cole back-heeled over the line against Manchester United as we beat them 2-1 at Old Trafford.
It was also Malouda corner that John Terry nodded on for Didier Drogba to strike past Manuel Almunia when we hosted Arsenal at the Bridge, opening the scoring only seven minutes in.
When it came to scoring himself, Malouda netted six goals more in all competitions compared to the previous campaign although his disciplinary record did slip slightly during 2009/10.
He saw red, following two yellow cards against Birmingham on Boxing Day, as well as another six yellows.
He had only found the net four times before that dismissal but would score another 11 before the season ended, including two against Portsmouth and two against Villa in our 5-0 and 7-1 wins respectively.
In fact Malouda began scoring regularly the first game following his red card when we hosted Watford for a 5-0 thumping. The next game was the nine-goal thriller against Sunderland in which he netted our second.
It was one of his most incredible goals in a Chelsea shirt after winning the ball inside the centre circle and then dancing past two opponents before accurately finding the bottom corner with his right foot.
He was a versatile member of the team, playing as a midfielder rather than a wide man in a 4-3-3 towards the season's end and he even moved back into the left-back position away against Inter Milan when both Ashley Cole and Yury Zhirkov were unavailable. It was the first time he performed those duties in a Chelsea shirt although he had done so for Lyon and once for France, and proved capable in the role against the forward runs of Maicon.
Ending his League campaign against Wigan, although he failed to find the net during our 8-0 win he did assist in Nicolas Anelka's vital opener after chesting down for his fellow Frenchman to strike with only six minutes played.
He ended the season with a second successive FA Cup winners' medal after a tight 1-0 win over Portsmouth at Wembley in which he expertly spotted Ashley Cole's run down the left flank, a move which ended with Salmon Kalou's big miss.
It will be a tough task for Malouda to build again on such a successful campaign next year following World Cup action but at 30-years-old and in the form of his life, to do so should be well within the spritely winger's reach.
The Frenchman made Carlo Ancelotti's early selections and by the end had cemented his place in the starting line up. He was instrumental in a number of historic wins and netted 15 goals throughout an industrious campaign.
That was an important measurement of his abilities but just as vital were the assists. Malouda helped set up 12 of Chelsea's League goals, including his cross which Joe Cole back-heeled over the line against Manchester United as we beat them 2-1 at Old Trafford.
It was also Malouda corner that John Terry nodded on for Didier Drogba to strike past Manuel Almunia when we hosted Arsenal at the Bridge, opening the scoring only seven minutes in.
When it came to scoring himself, Malouda netted six goals more in all competitions compared to the previous campaign although his disciplinary record did slip slightly during 2009/10.
He saw red, following two yellow cards against Birmingham on Boxing Day, as well as another six yellows.
He had only found the net four times before that dismissal but would score another 11 before the season ended, including two against Portsmouth and two against Villa in our 5-0 and 7-1 wins respectively.
In fact Malouda began scoring regularly the first game following his red card when we hosted Watford for a 5-0 thumping. The next game was the nine-goal thriller against Sunderland in which he netted our second.
It was one of his most incredible goals in a Chelsea shirt after winning the ball inside the centre circle and then dancing past two opponents before accurately finding the bottom corner with his right foot.
He was a versatile member of the team, playing as a midfielder rather than a wide man in a 4-3-3 towards the season's end and he even moved back into the left-back position away against Inter Milan when both Ashley Cole and Yury Zhirkov were unavailable. It was the first time he performed those duties in a Chelsea shirt although he had done so for Lyon and once for France, and proved capable in the role against the forward runs of Maicon.
Ending his League campaign against Wigan, although he failed to find the net during our 8-0 win he did assist in Nicolas Anelka's vital opener after chesting down for his fellow Frenchman to strike with only six minutes played.
He ended the season with a second successive FA Cup winners' medal after a tight 1-0 win over Portsmouth at Wembley in which he expertly spotted Ashley Cole's run down the left flank, a move which ended with Salmon Kalou's big miss.
It will be a tough task for Malouda to build again on such a successful campaign next year following World Cup action but at 30-years-old and in the form of his life, to do so should be well within the spritely winger's reach.
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