RETURNEE manager of Chelsea, Guus Hiddink showered encomiums on John Mikel Obi despite the team's 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge on a Boxing Day.
The Nigeria international came on to replace Cesc Fabregas in the 46th minute, and his inclusion brought some level of stability into the Blues defence to the delight of his Dutch manager.
Hiddink who took over from sacked Portuguese manager, Jose Mourinho, said on the Blues official website that he was impressed with the performance of Mikel, whose close range shot almost delivered full points for the London side.
"I liked our intensity but we also have to look for a balance in the team. It’s a very attacking-orientated team.
"When we have a midfield with all creative players it’s beautiful but sometimes you need a balance and I thought John Obi gave us that balance.
“When you have the creative players such as Matic, Oscar, Willian coming inside and Cesc as well, sometimes you have to choose in a different way," said Hiddink, who had earlier coached Chelsea in 2009 season.
Meanwhile, Chelsea will on Monday night Manchester United, whose manager, Louis van Gaal, has been under intense pressure to resign following a spate of poor results.
The Red Devils lost 0-2 to Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium also on a Boxing Day with goals from Bojan Krkic and Marko Arnautovic thus; need victory to save the job of van Gaal, who is equally ready to throw in the towel if the result of Monday's game call for it.
Caption: Mikel Obi.
Heartland 2 El-Kanemi Warriors 1
Shooting Stars 2 Dolphins 2
Nasarawa Utd 2 Giwa FC 0
Kwara United 2 FC Ifeanyiubah 0
Abia Warriors 1 Sharks 0
Warri Wolves 5 FC Taraba 1
Sunshine Stars 0 Enyimba 0
Rangers 3 Bayelsa Utd 1
Akwa United 1 Lobi Stars 0
Wikki Tourists 2 Kano Pillars 0
Final league table
P W D L GF GA PTS
1. Enyimba 38 19 13 06 48 27 70
2. Warri Wolves 38 19 09 10 62 29 66
3. Nasarawa United 38 18 09 11 46 35 63
4. Wikki Tourists 38 18 09 11 45 36 63
5. Giwa FC 38 17 12 09 44 41 63
6. Sunshine Stars 38 18 07 13 58 38 61
7. Kano Pillars 38 16 07 15 45 39 55
8. Heartland FC 38 17 05 16 46 40 56
9. Shooting Stars 38 15 08 15 39 39 53
10. Abia Warriors 38 16 05 17 39 43 53
11. IfeanyiUbah 38 14 08 16 37 40 50
12. Rangers 38 13 10 15 46 51 49
13. El-Kanemi Warriors 38 14 07 17 38 56 49
14. Lobi Stars 38 11 14 13 34 39 47
15. Akwa United 38 13 08 17 33 43 47
16. Dolphins FC 38 11 12 15 38 40 45
.......
17. Sharks FC 38 11 12 14 28 39 45
18. Kwara United 38 12 06 20 32 46 42
19. Taraba FC 38 09 10 19 30 47 37
20. Bayelsa United 38 07 13 18 28 48 34.......
Globacom Premier League Wk 37 results
Kano Pillars 1 Akwa United 0
El-Kanemi Warriors 1 Wikki Tourists 0
Dolphins FC 2 Heartland 1
Giwa FC 1 Shooting Stars 0
FC IfeanyiUbah 0 Nasarawa Utd 2
Sharks FC 1 Kwara United 0
Taraba FC 2 Abia Warriors 1
Enyimba 0 Warri Wolves 0
Bayelsa United 1 Sunshine Stars 2
Lobi Stars 2 Rangers 0
........
Week 37 Table
P W D L GF GA PTS
1. Enyimba International 37 19 12 06 48 27 69
2. Warri Wolves 37 18 09 10 57 28 63
3. Giwa FC 37 17 12 08 44 39 63
4. Sunshine Stars 37 18 06 13 58 38 60
5. Nasarawa United 37 17 09 11 44 35 60
6. Wikki Tourists 37 17 09 11 43 36 60
7. Kano Pillars 37 16 07 14 45 37 55
8. Heartland FC 37 16 05 16 44 39 53
9. Shooting Stars 37 15 07 15 37 37 52
10.FC IfeanyiUbah 37 14 08 15 37 38 50
11. Abia Warriors 37 15 05 17 38 43 50
12. El-Kanemi Warriors 37 14 07 16 37 54 49
13. Lobi Stars 37 11 14 12 34 38 47
14. Rangers International 37 12 10 15 43 50 46
15. Sharks FC 37 11 12 14 28 38 45
16. Dolphins FC 37 11 11 15 36 38 45
17. Akwa United 37 12 08 17 32 43 44
18. Kwara United 37 11 06 20 30 46 39
19. Taraba FC 37 09 10 18 29 42 37
20. Bayelsa United 37 07 13 17 27 45 34
............
Globacom Premier League Week 38 fixtures
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Heartland vs El-Kanemi Warriors
Shooting Stars vs Dolphins
Nasarawa Utd vs Giwa FC
Kwara United vs FC Ifeanyiubah
Abia Warriors vs Sharks
Warri Wolves vs FC Taraba
Sunshine Stars vs Enyimba
Rangers vs Bayelsa Utd
Akwa United vs Lobi Stars
Wikki Tourists vs Kano Pillars
Sunday, November 8, 2015
Kano Pillars vs Akwa United
El-Kanemi Warriors vs Wikki Tourists
Dolphins FC vs Heartland
Giwa FC vs Shooting Stars
FC IfeanyiUbah vs Nasarawa United
Sharks FC vs Kwara United
Taraba FC vs Abia Warriors
Enyimba vs Warri Wolves
Bayelsa United vs Sunshine Stars
Lobi Stars vs Rangers
Wikki Tourists 2 Dolphins 0
Heartland 3 Giwa 2
Shooting Stars 2 Ifeanyiubah 1
Rangers 2 Akwa Utd 2
El-Kanemi Warriors 1 Kano Pillars 0
Kwara United 1 FC Taraba 0
Abia Warriors 0 Enyimba 1
Warri Wolves 4 Bayelsa Utd 0
Nasarawa United 2 Sharks 2 (Abandoned)
Match awarded by LMC to Nasarawa 3-0
Sunshine Stars 0 Lobi Stars 1 (Abadoned in 77th min)
Remaining minutes to be played in Abuja
..........
Rescheduled games.
Sunshine Stars 5 Rangers 1
Ifeanyiubah 2 El-Kanemi 1
Table
P W D L PS
1. Enyimba International 36 19 11 06 68
2. Warri Wolves 36 18 08 10 62
3. Wikki Tourists 36 17 09 10 60
4. Giwa FC 36 16 12 08 60
5. Sunshine Stars 35 17 05 13 56
6. Heartland FC 36 16 05 15 53
7. Nasarawa United 35 16 08 11 56
8. Kano Pillars 36 15 07 14 52
9. Shooting Stars 36 15 07 14 52
10. Abia Warriors 36 15 05 16 50
11. FC IfeanyiUbah 36 14 08 14 50
12. Rangers International 36 12 11 13 46
13. El-Kanemi Warriors 36 13 07 16 46
14. Akwa United 36 12 08 16 44
15. Lobi Stars 35 10 13 12 43
16. Sharks 36 10 12 14 42
....................................................................
17. Dolphins 36 10 11 15 41
18. Kwara United 36 11 06 19 39
19. Bayelsa United 36 07 13 16 34
20. Taraba 35 08 09 18 33
Sunday, November 1, 2015.
Wikki Tourists vs Dolphins
Heartland vs Giwa
Shooting Stars vs Ifeanyiubah
Nasarawa United vs Sharks
Kwara Utd vs Taraba
Abia Warriors vs Enyimba
Warri Wolves vs Bayelsa Utd
Sunshine Stars vs Lobi Stars
Rangers vs Akwa Utd
El-Kanemi Warriors vs Kano Pillars
Dolphins 2 El-Kanemi Warriors 0
Giwa FC 3 Wikki Tourists 2
FC Ifeanyiubah 1 Heartland 0
Sharks 2 Shooting Stars 1
FC Taraba 0 Nasarawa United 0
Enyimba 1 Kwara United 0
Bayelsa United 1 Abia Warriors 0
Akwa United 2 Sunshine Stars 1
Kano Pillars 2 Rangers 1
Lobi Stars ? Warri Wolves ?
