It was not the most ideal start to the new campaign for Chelsea on Saturday as the Blues scraped a 1-0 win against a depleted Everton side thanks to a Jorginho penalty early in the second half.
Despite having more than 60% of possession, the London side’s attack failed to threaten Jordan Pickford’s goal with clear-cut chances which only further accentuated the need for a No. 9 in the squad.
Following the departure of Romelu Lukaku, the club are currently without a proven forward and has only brought in another winger in Raheem Sterling as an attacking signing from the market.
On the bright side, Thomas Tuchel’s side appears to need no further defensive acquisitions as Saturday’s win was ensured by a strong performance from the backline where new signings Kalidou Koulibaly and Marc Cucurella (off the bench) both impressed.
The Senegalese international proved to be a sturdy rock in front of pacey Everton forwards such as Demarai Gray and Alex Iwobi throughout the game while Cucurella shifted smoothly into the wing-back position and constantly bombed up and down the left flank.
As the two new recruits put on a fine show for the travelling Chelsea supporters, the away stands at Goodison Park rewarded the debutants by unveiling personalized chants for the duo.
The central defender was the first to receive a new song as Blues fans appear to have composed one to the tune of “Hey Baby.”
The track initially composed by Bruce Channel back in the 50s has over the years been remixed numerous times resulting in pop remakes such as the version by DJ Otzi which is often played as a dance anthem.
Given the groovy nature of the remix, it is no surprise that the track was used to make the new Koulibaly chant.
While this party anthem has aided in composing the chant for Koulibaly, it appears Chelsea fans have put even less thought into the song for Cucurella.
As the Spaniard was being subbed on by Thomas Tuchel on Saturday, the travelling fans chose to regurgitate the chant sung by Brighton fans for the player during his time with the club.
As Brighton and Chelsea locked horns publicly following the Blues’ last-minute hijack of Cucurella, it is not unexpected that Chelsea fans chose to add insult to injury by also hijacking the player’s chant from Brighton fans.
While both chants are much shorter and seem to be inferior in quality compared to some of the iconic chants unveiled by football fans recently, the attempt from the Chelsea supporters must surely be appreciated as these appear to be very spontaneous creations.
Perhaps once the London side actually begins firing on all cylinders later this season, more nuanced chants can be heard bellowing from the stands of Stamford Bridge.
