Marko Marin - Will his first goal kickstart his Chelsea career?

Those of you who watched Chelsea‘s pre-season tour of the USA would have seen Marko Marin‘s exceptional performances. It was our first look at the German winger in Chelsea blue, and I have to say that he didn’t disappoint. What was most noticeable about his game was his impeccable close control and ability to change direction at a moment’s notice, and this trickery, united with a quick burst of pace really made him a handful.

Watching him glide past defenders with ease really built up expectations that he would become an instant hit in the Premier League, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. He did bring with him a reputation of being injury-prone, and that reputation certainly preceded him. He has never really got going since his move from Werder Bremen, and the start of his career in English football has been hampered by multiple injuries.

Since those injuries, Marin has rarely featured in the side, making a lowly 5 appearances over the whole season (the majority of those being off of the bench).

So, as we saw Marin taking off his tracksuit against Wigan, I’m sure most, including myself, thought his cameo would be nothing more than a time-wasting exercise, merely another appearance added to his bare stats column.

Boy, was I wrong.

The German winger anticipated Ali Al-Habsi parrying Cesar Azpilicueta‘s driving shot, and capitalized on it by guiding the ball into an open net with a diving header. As he ran into the loving embrace of the Chelsea fans, you could literally see all the tension and stress built up over the past 6 months lift off of his shoulders. To say he was all smiles after his first Chelsea goal would be an understatement, and he looked overjoyed to finally break his Chelsea duck.

Following his goal you could instantly see a difference in Marin’s body language, as during the closing minutes of the match he looked so much more comfortable and dangerous on the ball, like the player we witnessed during pre-season. Let’s hope this is a sign of things to come!

As we know, he and Moses are the only natural wingers in our squad, and they can offer something different from Mata and Hazard. If the German does manage to get into a rich vein of form, then he could add a different dimension to the Chelsea attack with a more direct approach.

An in-form Marin is an extremely useful asset to have!