Sunday 23 October 2016 19:38, UK
Thierry Henry says some Chelsea players had something to prove to Jose Mourinho as they romped to a 4-0 victory on Super Sunday.
The Special One returned to Stamford Bridge as Manchester United boss after being sacked by Chelsea last season amid suggestions of disharmony in the dressing room.
Eden Hazard scored and put in a man-of-the-match display, while Nemanja Matic earned praise from Sky Sports expert Henry.
And he feels certain Chelsea players wanted to make a statement against their former boss.
Henry told Sky Sports: "Those guys wanted to prove something to Mourinho, the guys that were maybe not in favour of him last year.
"Maybe he dropped some, maybe he wasn't happy with some.
"I think today they wanted to prove a point to him, not only the whole league, and themselves and the fans, but also to him.
"The balance of the team is right and the desire is right. It does help scoring early in the game, but they managed the game.
"Eden Hazard was amazing, Nemanja Matic had a very good game and they were all good, to be fair."
Chelsea had suffered disappointing results against title rivals earlier in the season, losing 3-0 at Arsenal and 2-1 at home to Liverpool.
Sunday's win sees them move one point off top spot and Henry says they have proved their title credentials.
"With the way the games went at the weekend it was vital for them to be back in the mix," he added.
"The way they played against Liverpool and Arsenal was just not good enough, but today they realised that with a lot of work and if they get it right they can compete against the best in this league.
"The momentum is now on their side. How long are they going to carry that on? Hopefully for them a long time.
"For me, it was very important today for them to win and win well."
