By SHAUN CUSTIS
JUAN MATA is taking over Frank Lampard’s mantle as the midfielder with the golden boot.
The Spaniard’s goals are inspiring Chelsea to a rejuvenated title challenge.
Mata is Juan heck of a player and the £26million Chelsea splashed out to sign him from Valencia at the start of last season is turning out to be money very well spent.
How Arsenal must rue the day they dithered over whether to buy Mata or not.
He is the heartbeat of this Blues side and his 13th goal of the season provided another vital three points.
The gap between third-placed Chelsea and City in second is now only four points and they have a game in hand.
But for Manchester United’s late show against Newcastle, they would have been closing down on Fergie’s men too.
Still, Chelsea can only do what they can do and right now they are doing it very well.
It was a wonder strike by Mata on 38 minutes as he made space 25 yards out and whipped a gem of a shot into the far corner.
And it gave stand-in Canaries keeper Mark Bunn no chance.
With Lampard, who was dropped to the bench, having been told he will not get a new contract at Stamford Bridge, a lot of goals will be going out of the exit door with him.
But Mata has a deadly eye himself and this was his sixth goal in eight games.
The closest Norwich came to equalising was right at the death.
First, Ashley Cole showed incredible coolness to control a difficult ball in his six-yard box and smash it over his own bar for a corner.
Then, from the set-piece, Sebastien Bassong headed down and over the top.
Chelsea had scored five at Leeds in the Capital One Cup and beaten Villa 8-0 at home last Sunday. So it was perhaps asking a lot for a third successive goal fest.
The visitors were also facing a Norwich side who, until losing to West Brom at the weekend, had gone 10 without defeat and beaten Arsenal and United along the way.
So this one was never going to be a pushover for Rafa Benitez’s side.
However, in pouring rain, they showed again that under Benitez they are learning to tighten it up and dig in when required.
It will not get the supporters chanting Rafa’s name but at least it might stop them booing their Spanish gaffer. Progress, of sorts.
Norwich will be disappointed they did not offer more to warm their fans on a grim Boxing Day afternoon.
But, at the same time, Chelsea deserve credit for restricting their chances to a minimum.
Blues fans again made it clear how much they want Lampard to stay by chanting “Super Frankie Lampard” as he pounded up and down the touchline getting soaked in his tracksuit.
He indulged in some friendly banter with the home fans too who first sang “You’re fat and you’ve got the sack”.
Then they took a chance to offer him an olive branch in East Anglia by singing “Sign him up, sign him up”.
Lamps laughed and gave them the thumbs up.
Chelsea, again with David Luiz in midfield, were always taking the game to their opponents.
Although Luiz sent two shots so high over the bar that they rattled the windows of the executive boxes just below the second tier of the stand.
However, on the other side of the coin, Luiz was also trying to play his team-mates in and when he robbed Wes Hoolahan he fed Mata on the right.
Mata had to take it quickly but put his hands to his face as his close-range shot towards the near post hit the side-netting. Luiz again was the architect from a run which set up John Obi Mikel but the Nigerian’s shot fizzed over.
Then came Mata’s stunner which followed good work by Victor Moses and Oscar before a quite wonderful finish.
Bunn had to be alert to keep out a ball at his near post after Oscar’s corner was touched on by Moses just after half-time.
And, when Norwich did manage to mount an attack, a great sliding clearance by Gary Cahill cut out a dangerous cross from Robert Snodgrass.
Grant Holt managed to get away too but he was marginally offside before shooting wide.
Snodgrass went down in the box without Branislav Ivanovic getting near him.
But, in fairness, the Canaries man was quickly back on his feet and the referee spared him a booking for diving.
As the board went up for added time, the Canaries mounted their last-ditch bid for an equaliser.
Centre-back Bassong had been on target three times in his previous seven games.
But the former Tottenham player got too much force on his downward header and it bounced up and over.
DREAM TEAM RATINGS
STAR MAN — JUAN MATA (Chelsea)
NORWICH: Bunn 6, Martin 7, Turner 6, Bassong 7, Garrido 7, Snodgrass 5, Tettey 7, Johnson 6 (Howson 5), Pilkington 5 (Morison 5), Hoolahan 6 (E Bennett 5), Holt 6. Subs not used: Rudd, Jackson, Barnett, Ryan Bennett. Booked: Johnson.
CHELSEA: Cech 6, Azpilicueta 6, Ivanovic 7, Cahill 7, Cole 7, Mikel 7 (Lampard 6), Luiz 6, Moses 6 (Hazard 6), Oscar 6, Mata 8 (Ake 5), Torres 6. Subs not used: Turnbull, Ferreira, Marin, Piazon. Booked: Hazard.
REF: J Moss 7
