Tougher tests await once the hero worship dies down but Chelsea's manager needs a top striker to enhance his legacy
Even José Mourinho had initially been uncomfortable with all the hullabaloo. The Portuguese emerged from the tunnel before kick-off to offer a rather sheepish wave to those at the far end in the Matthew Harding stand as he took his seat in the dug-out and it was only when the adoring reception was prolonged that he rose back to his feet to blow kisses to the crowd. Twice. As the banners declared, this club has its hero back and, after all the poison that infected these parts last term, that is cause enough for celebration.
The Special One turned Happy One-cum-Godfather cut a relaxed figure on the sidelines here, which was simple enough once his side had established their lead and rather pulverised Hull City up to the break before clicking into lockdown mode as fatigue set in. He laughed and joked with his opposite number, Steve Bruce. There were winks to those behind him in the east stand as everything went according to plan out on the turf, his hands sunk deep in his pockets as he surveyed his new charges from the technical area. This was comfortable from the outset and Mourinho, at 50, was at ease.
The reality is tougher tests than this await and the real question is whether the man who delivered this club's first league titles in half a century in his first two years as manager can now hoist a team in transition back into proper contention. Can a side who have tended to start campaigns at a canter similar to this in recent years, only to splutter as winter sets in, thrive more consistently under his leadership? Chelsea have finished nine, 25 and 14 points from the summit in the three seasons since Carlo Ancelotti's team secured the Double. European trophies had rather masked those domestic deficiencies, although Roman Abramovich had clearly been pained by his club traipsing in behind Manchester's United and City.
The owner's stewardship stretches to a decade now, a fact celebrated with a 29-word acknowledgement in the match-day programme. "We have had a great decade together and the club could not have achieved it all without you," he wrote. "Thanks for your support. Here's to many more years of success." The restoration of this team as title challengers was presumably one of his principal aspirations in restoring the most successful manager of his ownership, although the task is very different to that inherited in 2004.
This squad lacked balance last year, with plenty of lavish creators new to these parts but too few strikers to lead the line effectively. Kevin De Bruyne and André Schürrle, each encouraging on debut, have since added to the list of wannabe playmakers but, until the forward ranks are supplemented by a Wayne Rooney or a figure of similar calibre, some level of doubt will remain. Unless, of course, Mourinho can eke more from the group than Ancelotti, André Villas-Boas, Roberto di Matteo and, albeit only in his interim capacity, Rafael Benítez.
There were reasons for optimism. In Eden Hazard, such a livewire presence here, he has a player who will benefit from his experiences "good and bad" in this division last season and is ready now to take the elite by storm. The Belgian played a part in Oscar's opener, even if it was his compatriot De Bruyne slipping the Brazilian free with a cutely clipped pass, and his threat was never truly suppressed. Hazard arrived at this club for a huge fee and with a burgeoning reputation from his productive spell at Lille. Last year yielded excellence over the campaign's latter stages but he seems primed to flourish more regularly this time around.
So too Oscar, whose most productive form after his £23m arrival from Internacional had come in European competition, where life seemed less hectic. He was a blur of flicks and tricks when offered the chance to dictate play at the centre of the creative trio behind Fernando Torres. Admittedly, he rather faded in the second period – a common complaint last year – but his credentials as a No10 are now established. Chelsea dismantled a well-drilled side without requiring Juan Mata, their player of the year for the last two seasons, whose match fitness was apparently an issue.
Mourinho may have bemoaned the fact his attacking trio "disappeared" after the break, apparently wearied by midweek international duty, but their work was long since done. He will be better informed too, now, of the threat Torres carries these days, even if new Chelsea managers no longer arrive at Stamford Bridge charged primarily with reinvigorating the £50m record signing. Memories of the forward's Liverpool days are fading, and it is more about ensuring the 29-year-old contributes effectively to the collective these days, rather than hoping he scorches all-comers single-handedly.
Torres started his own season brightly, linking up smartly with those players closest to him, and won the early penalty fluffed by an otherwise excellent Frank Lampard. He also won the free-kick, rather more questionably, from which the veteran registered his 204th goal for the club, but the Spaniard's display did rather fizzle out as the game followed suit.
Perhaps that much was to be expected on the opening weekend, when few of those on show are at peak form and fitness, although it was noticeable the manager appeared to make a point of applauding his every effort or dart into space. He will need Torres to feel integral if he is to contribute – and even more so if another striker is not recruited. As it was, the manner in which Mourinho flung his notebook into the crowd at the final whistle suggested he had learned little new. The locals rejoiced in his presence. As far as they and the hierarchy are concerned, this is a man who can make a difference.
