Demba Ba - A Perfect Debut

The Blues’ first January acquisition announced himself to Chelsea fans with a quality performance against a Southampton side who have just started adjusting to life in the top flight.

Demba Ba so far looks a bargain at just £7m and there is no doubting that the Senegalese striker is a welcome and useful addition to the squad. He gives Chelsea something extra, he facilitates the option of a plan B, something we haven’t had since Drogba left in the summer.

So what stood out in our number 29′s performance?

What does he give the team?

He made it abundantly clear that he harbours that predatory instinct that all the good strikers have, he was in the right place at the right time for his first goal, he followed in and anticipated the ball dropping at the goal line. He was seen constantly following in efforts just in case there was a deflection or goalkeeper mistake, this is a good sign of a striker who is currently at the top of his game, feeling confident and scoring goals.

It was not only his positional awareness caught the eye, but also his intelligent movement to draw defenders away and create more space for our attacking midfield 3. He was trying to get into the defenders’ blind spot so they have to drop back and stay aware of his movement, a handful and quite frankly a nightmare to play against. His runs also created him multiple goal scoring opportunities; he loves to pull off the back of defenders after fooling them into thinking he is coming inside (see his header that was brilliantly saved in the second half). It is safe to say that if he keeps up this level of performance, Torres is going to have a real battle on his hands for the solitary front man role.

He does offer something different that the Spaniard; a certain presence that Fernando does not possess. He has that extra bit of physicality that defenders find tough to handle, he can hold the ball up well with a good touch and offers the option of a direct route 1 pass. He showed his aerial prowess both defensively and offensively, with 2 good clearances from corners as well as an excellent header that forced an equally superb stop from Artur Boruc; to prevent Ba from taking home the match ball.

The icing on the cake was his clinical finishing, his second goal was very well taken, steering the ball into the net with his first touch. All in all, he fills me with more confidence when he gets a chance, you just feel like he is going to score, on the other hand when Torres gets a chance it makes me feel uneasy and uncertain, confidence in your front man is vital, and I don’t think Torres gives Chelsea that at times.

So far loving what I am seeing from Ba, being an admirer of his, I knew what to expect from the former Newcastle front man, now he has shown what he can offer with an excellent performance on his first appearance in Chelsea blue. Let’s not forget he had 1 days training with the team before being placed into the starting line-up and could have easily had a hat-trick (Lamps should have given him the penalty).

In short, what does Ba offer Chelsea?

Positional Awareness – checkIntelligent Movement – checkAerial Threat – checkHold Up Play – checkClinical Finisher – check

Welcome to Chelsea FC Demba Ba, we look forward to you scoring plenty more goals and winning trophies!