23, 2013, at Ottawa. ... The Rangers had two potential powe

"This is not a team to win tomorrow, its a team of kids, this is a team where the best years are to come, the best stage is not this one or the next one. Rick Barry Jersey . More than 50 per cent of the team are aged 23 or below, this is a team to be built, which is what I have been asked to do, build, with the fantastic talent I have, a Chelsea team for the next decade." - Jose Mourinho, summer 2013. Without a ball being kicked, Mourinho knew the size of the task at Stamford Bridge. When his team came up against Manchester United at the end of August at Old Trafford, he kept it tight, bringing a new resilience to the team to help them get a point. It was an examination of his players and one they had rarely been asked to do under Roberto Di Matteo and Rafael Benitez last season. Almost five months later, in the return match against United at Stamford Bridge, Mourinho put his players through a different exam, one they passed again, thumping Manchester United 3-1. This was not a game won on the training pitch, or at the blackboard tactically in the buildup; instead a deflection and two poor defensive errors handed the game to Chelsea. Mourinho had hoped something like that might have happened at Old Trafford. This time hed hoped they might create a bit more, but he will certainly take the manner in which they won. In the minds of many, the game officially ended Uniteds title challenge but, realistically, this was secured two months earlier. Instead, this game showed us more of Chelsea - a win where they finally relied upon a striker to deliver the critical blows, as Samuel Etoo scored a hat-trick inside 50 minutes, and a win where they easily defeated an arch-rival without being at the top of their game. And it is that which will please the manager most. Strikers are paid a lot of money to score goals and often these become vital, isolated moments that have no reflection on the way the game was played. When Etoos shot deflected off Michael Carrick and into the net on 17 minutes, it put an end to a period that United were in control of the match. Etoo scored again and again, both times being left to easily poke home in the penalty box to secure a rare kind of victory for Chelsea. Dont get used to it. Mourinho acknowledged this recently, saying: “We cannot just let the players hide behind the fact that we are not scoring enough goals and wait for that to happen. We cannot play for that. People need to change their brains a little bit more." Sunday was the first time all season a Chelsea striker had scored more than once in a game. Last season? It happened just once in 38 games when Fernando Torres got a brace at Sunderland (and one of those was a penalty.) Etoo handed Chelsea the three points on Sunday, but with a settled back four and an average striker playing up top for Chelsea this season, their championship-calibre credentials will be determined by the five that connects them together. This is Mourinhos most important project. The Fundamental Five Mourinho knows that these five players dictate the way his team is playing. When they lose, like they did at Sunderland in the League Cup last month, it makes Mourinho question how these five play, as he said: "We may have to take a step back in order to be more consistent at the back. Its something I dont want to do, to play more counterattacking, but Im giving it serious thought. If I want to win 1-0, I think I can, as I think its one of the easiest things in football. Its not so difficult, as you dont give players the chance to express themselves." If Mourinho is giving counterattacking more thought, it requires a more solid double pivot in central midfield, but when you ask him about this area, Mourinho would admit he isnt fully sold on the style, saying, as he also did last month, this time after a win: "We are not a very solid team, at the same time compared with last season, when this team played a big part of the season with David Luiz and [John Obi] Mikel in front of the four defenders, so at the end of the day they had five defenders plus Mikel, Ramires playing on the right side closing one side down and the team was playing with one striker and Juan Mata behind him, defending well and trying to counterattack, thats not the direction we want to go." Mourinho will only tell you publicly what he wants you to know. In truth, if Chelsea are to become the powerhouse Mourinho wants, the team needs to be able to attack better and counter and that was shown on Sunday against United. Up 3-0, he brought on Mikel to play alongside Luiz and pushed Ramires on to the right to close down the threat of Adnan Januzaj, who had moved there when Javier Hernandez came on. However, it is one thing to do this, up 3-0, but it is quite another to do it at 0-0. Yet, at 0-0 Chelsea still countered. And at Arsenal last month, a game that ended 0-0, they countered from deep positions on regular occasions. However, in that match never, was it more evident that the playmakers didnt trust Torres, as they often would break from deep positions and not want to give the ball to the Spaniard. "It was like they were playing with 10 men," said Sky Sports analyst Gary Neville after the match and he was absolutely spot on. Ramires has been a permanent fixture in central midfield and, despite often saying Luiz wasnt a central midfielder, the Brazilian was selected there again for Sundays clash, just as he did last week at Hull and at home to Liverpool recently. Luiz is clumsy on the ball and gives away needless fouls, but, unlike Frank Lampard, he gets the best out of his midfield partner because, positionally, he is ideal. He allows Ramires to use his speed and energy, getting forward to connect with the playmakers further forward, but is also useful in counterattacks because he can often ignite them with the first pass as he thinks like a centre back when his team is not in possession of the ball. It is clear Mourinho wants to play a four-band system, which has been labeled 4-2-3-1, but is often really 4-3-2-1 with the central playmaker dropping deeper when not in possession, another reason why counterattacking can work for this team. When asked about the three behind the striker, earlier this season, Mourinho said: "We have six players for these three positions and they will give me chances as a manager to change, match to match, depending on the opponent, the game plan. It is based on these three players how we create our football." This has certainly been true. Five months after that comment, Kevin De Bruyne has been sold, Juan Mata and Andre Schurrle have sat on the bench a lot and Mourinho has found out who the three players he relies on most in those positions - Willian, Oscar and Eden Hazard - and, with whoever playing as a striker continuing to be inconsistent, these playmakers certainly dictate Chelseas creativity. Hazard is the fun inside the fundamental five and has had a wonderful season, already scoring nine league goals. Of the three, he sticks to his position, on the left, more than most, but has the football intelligence to come central, to occupy the centre backs, when the striker comes deep, and even go right and attack from deep through the middle, as he did when he scored his wonderful individual goal against Liverpool. Keeping the Belgian predominantly on the left appears to be the reason Mourinho prefers Cesar Azpilicueta over Ashley Cole at left back. Mourinho rarely encourages his full backs to get forward and having a more defensive-minded full back down the left negates Hazards defensive issues, which were far too evident under both managers last season. Finding these combinations all over the pitch is what is crucial in finding the perfect balance for Chelsea going forward. Oscar is much better at combining with Ramires than Juan Mata, for example, while Willians workrate on the right has made him a perfect partner for Branislav Ivanovic. It was fitting, after a win on January 1st, that Mourinho said: "We are right in it, we have a good team but we need a few important bodies for next season, and I will say in the summer we will get it, I would say the team evolves in this direction, I can predict in the next season we will be real important contenders." For many, Chelsea are real important contenders this season, but what Mourinho means is that, by then, his team will play the way he wants them to. Nemanja Matic has arrived and 4-3-3 may well be in the future, but for that Chelsea needs a legitimate star striker and they need to continually show their manager that they are getting better when they immediately lose the ball. Transitions are the theme for Chelsea to improve, but in this transitional time at the club, they might even be surprising the manager with just how well they are doing. The team not built for tomorrow is becoming the team to win today. Eric Paschall Warriors Jersey . - Because they didnt go into Beast Mode, the Seattle Seahawks found themselves in Spin Mode. Nick Young Jersey . The goals took Liverpools tally in the Premier League this season to 70, overtaking Manchester City as the top scorers, and left the fourth-place team just four points behind league leader Chelsea. https://www.warriorsrookiesshop.com/Kevin-Durant-City-Edition-Jersey/ .2 million deal for the upcoming season with right-hander Garrett Richards.The person spoke on condition of anonymity Saturday because the announcement hadnt been made. NEW YORK -- This win was three years in the making for backup goalie Ray Emery and the rest of the Philadelphia Flyers. Emery stood in again for injured No. 1 netminder Steve Mason and made 31 saves to help the Flyers rally from an early two-goal deficit and beat the New York Rangers 4-2 on Sunday to even the first-round playoff series. The Flyers had lost nine straight at Madison Square Garden, including 4-1 in the series opener on Thursday, since their last win there on Feb. 20, 2011. Emery hadnt won a post-season game anywhere in exactly three years for Anaheim at Nashville. "I try to stay even-keeled, whether its going well or you dont get off to the start you want," the 31-year-old Emery said. "I play with a system in there, and I just kind of rely on that. Ive had leads before and Ive been down before so its just kind of a consistent approach." Luke Schenn scored the go-ahead goal in the second period after Jakub Voracek and Jason Akeson got the Flyers even at 2. Wayne Simmonds sealed the win with a power-play, empty-net goal. Now the Flyers head home, where they went 2-0 against the Rangers in the regular season. Game 3 is on Tuesday. Philadelphia no longer has to hear about its skid in New York in which the Flyers were outscored 35-10 and never had more than two goals in any game. "Thats a huge weight off our shoulders, to come in here and get the split," Schenn said. "Going back home, we feel a bit better about ourselves." Voracek brought the Flyers within 2-1 in the first after Martin St. Louis and Benoit Pouliot staked New York to its lead. Emery did the rest, looking especially sharp in the second and third periods. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 21 shots after a 14-save winning effort in the opener. "They came back pretty strong late in the first, and then in the second period a lot better," Lundqvist said. "Going into the third we felt confident we could tie it. The tide turned in the second when the Flyers caught up and went ahead despite being outshot 17-9. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault called that period his teams best of the day. "The game can be funny sometimes," he said. "We had some Grade A chances. Our power play had some great looks. They scored two and we didnt." Akeson tied it with a power-play goal 5:45 in off a rebound of Brayden Schenns shot for his second career NHL tally. It was a day of redemption for the 23-year-old Akeson, plaaying his fourth NHL game. Stephen Curry Jersey. His double high-sticking penalty in Game 1 led to two Rangers goals that turned a 1-1 game into a 3-1 deficit in the third. Flyers coach Craig Berube didnt consider benching him for Game 2. "Should I sit out everybody that takes a penalty?" Berube asked. "I understand he took a four-minute penalty, but he played well. It was a mistake, and you have to learn from them. Hes a good player." Philadelphia grabbed its second lead of the series with 8:42 left in the second during a delayed penalty. Michael Raffl brought the puck in on the right side and got it to Adam Hall for a shot. Luke Schenn then put in the rebound. The Rangers chance for a comeback was thwarted by a penalty for too many men with 1:18 left that led to Simmonds goal with 25.4 seconds remaining. Unlike in Game 1, the Flyers had the puck much more often and did a better job of closing off the Rangers passing lanes after the early deficit. However, they continued their undisciplined ways that cost them in the opener. The Flyers killed their first penalty after Simmonds held Ryan McDonagh in the offensive zone at 1:04, but they allowed one power-play goal and were short-handed three times in the first. Overall, the Flyers killed five of six power plays. New York took a 1-0 lead at 4:08 after a crisp passing sequence. Rick Nash came in with speed on the left side and moved the puck into the middle to Derek Stepan, who sent a pass into the right circle to St. Louis for a one-timer he punctuated with a fist pump. St. Louis, who had only one goal and seven assists with the Rangers in 19 regular-season games after being acquired from Tampa Bay, scored at the Garden for the first time since the trade for former captain Ryan Callahan. St. Louis has a goal and two assists in this series. The Rangers made it 2-0 at 8:22 with their third power-play goal in two games. More precision passing in the Philadelphia end by Mats Zuccarello and Derick Brassard set up another one-timer from the right side, this time by Pouliot, who got enough of the puck to put it past Emery. The Flyers got one back on a strong move by Voracek, who skated around defenceman Ryan McDonagh on the backhand and tucked in a forehand with 5:46 left. NOTES: Emery is 21-16 in career playoff games. ... Akesons only other goal was scored April 23, 2013, at Ottawa. ... The Rangers had two potential power plays negated by embellishment calls. ' ' '