closed Man Utd 1-3 Chelsea

[ZAPHOD2319 3,873]

With 5 days off, I bet Pulisic and Giroud are in. Sub them out if need be at halftime. 

[Supermonkey92 1,428]

My prediction on uniteds first 11 is based on how stubborn Ole is.

The lure of silverware will be too much for him to risk resting players.

Rashford, Martial, pogba and Bruno will definitely play

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

[Vesper 27,310]

With so much at stake, should Lampard rest players in the FA Cup?

https://theathletic.com/1929813/2020/07/16/frank-lampard-chelsea-liverpool-premier-league-fa-cup-manchester-united/

Over the next few days, Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard has to consider what, for him, may seem unthinkable: should he play a weakened team in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United?

Lampard loves the FA Cup. He has four winners’ medals obtained during his playing career in his sizeable collection and therefore knows what it takes to succeed at this stage of the competition. The 42-year-old won five of the six semi-finals he started in midfield for Chelsea between 2001 and 2014, scoring key goals in victories against Blackburn, Aston Villa and Tottenham.

No one should doubt how much he would relish adding another triumph to his resume as manager of the club — but that dream may have to be sacrificed or put at risk in order to achieve another.

For just three days after Chelsea face Manchester United at Wembley, Lampard’s side have the sizeable task of taking on newly-crowned champions Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League.

By the time that match kicks off, their rivals for a top-four finish and a place in the Champions League next season — Leicester City and Manchester United — will have played 37 league games to Chelsea’s 36 and either closed the gap or even gone above them in the table.

Right now, it feels pre-ordained that everything will be decided when Leicester host Manchester United and Lampard’s men face Wolves at home on the final day. Wolves can no longer finish above Chelsea but are still fighting for their place in Europe.

Lampard doesn’t own a crystal ball. He won’t know exactly where Chelsea will be in the standings before the Liverpool encounter but he has to prepare and think about selections for both Manchester United and Jurgen Klopp’s side now.

What isn’t in doubt is which game matters more. A positive result at Liverpool could prove decisive in Chelsea’s pursuit of Champions League football.

Qualifying for Europe’s premier club competition via the Premier League is vital for Lampard and his club’s plans going forward. It is worth tens of millions more in revenue compared with the Europa League. Chelsea earned €40 million from winning the latter in 2019, compared with Liverpool’s €107 million for their Champions League success.

Chelsea will make more from their European exploits this season too, even if they are knocked out of the current Champions League tournament by Bayern Munich in the last 16 as expected next month. When they were beaten by Barcelona at the same stage in 2018, the club made €58 million.

Then, there is the unquantifiable value that just comes from the prestige of being involved in the Champions League. In summary, both factors can make the difference between signing a talent like Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen or not.

Lampard suggested as much when asked by The Athletic if being in the Europa League rather than Champions League would affect his transfer plans.

“It’s not really a question just for me,” he replied. “It’s a hypothetical one for me to answer before the event. We have brought a couple of players into the club. That shows a real positivity of where we want to go. I know where I want to go with the squad but that has to be a fluid conversation with the club. Of course, economics will come into it, so we will cross that bridge when it comes.”

Many with a Chelsea persuasion will feel Lampard should play his strongest team in both matches. There have been numerous examples of coaches over the years who have rested key personnel with another game in mind only to end up losing both and come under huge criticism as a result.

Confidence is a precious thing and Chelsea’s chances of getting a priceless point or perhaps even a remarkable victory at Liverpool might be improved if they go into the contest off the back of a morale-boosting success over Manchester United. Conversely, a heavy loss on Sunday will lead to most people writing them off.

However, Lampard will surely give genuine thought to leaving some of his most reliable assets out, given the short break between the high-profile fixtures. Four names, in particular, come to mind.

Let’s begin with N’Golo Kante. The influential midfielder has sat out the last three Premier League games with a hamstring injury and Lampard didn’t speak with much confidence when he said the France international “has a chance” to play in the semi-final.

Chelsea missed his protection in front of the back four against Crystal Palace and Sheffield United when they conceded five goals in total. It could have been a lot more. You can imagine what damage Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Anthony Martial could do in his absence.

Yet if there is any doubt over his fitness at all, then he must be saved for the task of helping Chelsea’s back line keep Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Co quiet.

There have also been signs that the intense schedule following the restart is taking a toll. Willian has started all eight games, which have been played in the space of just 24 days, and his performances in the last two outings didn’t match the standards set before that. Fatigue has to be a factor.

Chelsea’s best players have been Christian Pulisic (three goals, three assists) and Olivier Giroud (four goals). These two provide their best hope of beating Manchester United — but also in getting the results they need against Liverpool and Wolves. What if either get injured or suffer burnout at the weekend?

Lampard does have other options to choose from. Tammy Abraham will be desperate to prove he is good enough to lead the line, having struggled for most of 2020, while Pedro or Callum Hudson-Odoi could easily replace Willian.

There are other decisions he could make in defence and midfield, too. For example, in the previous round, he named captain Cesar Azpilicueta as a substitute against Leicester, although brought him on for the second half when things were going awry.

It should be pointed out that Manchester United will be in a worse position as they have less time to prepare or nurse aching limbs because they face Crystal Palace on Thursday night. Their next Premier League game versus West Ham also kicks off just three days after the Wembley showdown — over two hours before Chelsea’s match at Liverpool.

This might influence Lampard’s thinking and encourage him to be bold. That is more like his modus operandi but he will know that his selections and results for both games will come under intense scrutiny. Get it wrong and a very positive first season in charge could have a very bitter ending.

[Vesper 27,310]

Tweaks to Lampard’s game plan could help Chelsea escape United’s stranglehold

https://theathletic.com/1932023/2020/07/17/chelsea-manchester-united-frank-lampard-gameplan/

The good news for Chelsea is they are one win away from capping Frank Lampard’s first season in charge with an FA Cup final appearance. The bad news is that win will have to come against Manchester United, the team who have firmly established themselves as his nightmare opponents this season.

United beat Chelsea home and away in the Premier League, as well as knocking Lampard’s team out of the Carabao Cup at Stamford Bridge in October. All three matches played out differently, but the common themes of the defeats are what Lampard can focus on to try to ensure a more positive outcome at Wembley on Sunday.

The Athletic takes a look at some potential tweaks to Chelsea’s game plan that could ask different questions of United at both ends of the pitch.

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Have less of the ball?

Chelsea have dominated possession in all of their meetings, enjoying 53.3 per cent of the ball at Old Trafford on the opening day of the Premier League season and more than 60 per cent in both games at Stamford Bridge. In the Carabao Cup they attempted 672 passes, almost twice as many as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team (358).

That dynamic broadly fits the way Lampard always wants his team to play; they have had a minority of the possession in only three matches across all competitions this season, and even forced Pep Guardiola’s possession-hungry Manchester City side to go long spells without the ball during their Premier League visit to the Etihad Stadium in November.

City won that game 2-1, with their goals underlining the central risk in Lampard’s plan; having the ball puts Chelsea on the front foot, but it also makes them vulnerable to being pressed into losing it in dangerous positions. United, with their plethora of lightning-fast, direct-running forwards, are better equipped than just about any other team in the country to exploit those opportunities when they occur.

All four United goals at Old Trafford in August were the direct result of transition attacks, including the penalty that Marcus Rashford converted after being brought down by a panicked, backpedalling Kurt Zouma as he raced towards the Chelsea goal.

The spot kick that allowed Rashford to open the scoring in the Carabao Cup tie at Stamford Bridge was won in similar circumstances — Daniel James being felled by Marcos Alonso in the box after the Spaniard’s loose pass gifted United the ball on the halfway line.

Lessening the focus on ball possession might force United to be a little more proactive, challenging them to play more against a fully-set Chelsea defence. There is, however, a risk to this approach too.

United have evolved as a team since the last meeting with Chelsea in February. Bruno Fernandes has made a transformative impact, but the Portugal midfielder’s burgeoning partnership with a fit-again Paul Pogba has given Solskjaer’s midfield the creative firepower to control and create on the front foot in matches, rather than simply relying on counter-attacks.

Four of the six Premier League matches that Pogba and Fernandes have started together – albeit against quite a favourable run of opponents – have yielded more than 60 per cent possession for United, while they have scored at least twice in each. Their number of big chances created per game has also risen, from 2.1 in the first 30 league matches of the season to 3.0 in the last five with Pogba and Fernandes, while their expected goals (xG) rating has gone up from 1.71 per game to 1.93.

It’s possible that Chelsea ceding possession on Sunday might not be as effective against United’s new, enhanced midfield, but their transition threat should loom large in Lampard’s thinking.

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Play Kante at the base of midfield (if he’s fit)

The time Lampard spent reviewing Chelsea’s match footage during the shutdown appeared to convince him that N’Golo Kante could offer the most value to his team as the deepest midfielder, using his peerless destructive instincts to shield a fragile defence.

It worked spectacularly well against City at Stamford Bridge last month, and only the Frenchman’s hamstring injury forced the shift back to a different type of midfield.

Kante is not as progressive a passer as Jorginho or Billy Gilmour and against teams who set up to frustrate Chelsea his shortcomings as a playmaker can outweigh the defensive value he offers. But against a team with United’s attacking firepower and a midfield that could be more expansive than in previous meetings, his presence in front of the defence is vital.

United have not been required to deal with Kante this season. He has played a grand total of 29 minutes in two of the three matches, making a late substitute appearance at Old Trafford back in August and limping out of the Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge in February early in the first half. Nor have they faced him deployed in the Makelele-type role that helped limit City to just two shots on target in the game that confirmed Liverpool as champions.

It would be a huge blow to Lampard if injury once again prevents him from picking Kante against United. Having him at the base of midfield allows Chelsea to deploy more expansive passers and runners in front of him. It also offers some reassurance to a defence that looked comically hapless with Jorginho labouring in front of them against Sheffield United.

As long as he is fit, Kante simply has to play.

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How about wing-backs?

United lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation for their 4-0 win over Chelsea on the opening day of the season, and Solskjaer has returned to the same system as the best way of accommodating Pogba and Fernandes together. But in both of their victories at Stamford Bridge, United set up in a conservative 3-4-1-2 formation that reverted to a five-man defence without the ball.

Man Utd’s starting formation vs Chelsea in Premier League at Stamford Bridge

The system gave United the defensive solidity they needed, restricting Chelsea to just three shots on target from 29 attempts across the two games, while still allowing them to get just enough men forward in key moments to score. Lampard was equally consistent with his tactics, lining his team up in an expansive 4-3-3 for both games.

Chelsea’s starting formation vs Man Utd in Premier League at Stamford Bridge

Most of the numbers very much support Lampard’s decision to make 4-3-3 Chelsea’s default formation, and his forays into using wing-backs have yielded decidedly mixed results. But for specific matches, against specific opponents, and with the benefit of the element of tactical surprise, there is a case for going back to the 3-4-2-1 system he has used at times this season.

Firstly, if United decide to revert to the blueprint that worked so well for them on both visits to Stamford Bridge, shifting to three at the back would allow Chelsea to match up much more easily across the pitch. It would be harder for Solskjaer’s team to work the ball into the kind of crossing position from which Aaron Wan-Bissaka supplied Anthony Martial in February.

There is also the fact that Chelsea know how to play a wing-back system well. Some of the older faces in the squad can still count on the muscle memory of the Antonio Conte era, while Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori all shone in their roles in a comprehensive 2-0 away win over Tottenham in December — a performance that still stands as one of the best of the season.

Shifting to three at the back could bring other, more marginal benefits; moving Alonso forward into a wing-back role seems to transform him into the most dangerous goalscoring defender in Europe, while exchanging a small, technical midfielder for another centre-back should, in theory, make Chelsea marginally more solid defending set-pieces. And on that subject…

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Is there a case for double-marking Maguire at corners?

Chelsea are startlingly bad at defending set pieces, and corners in particular. Lampard has overhauled his defensive system once this season but regardless of how he arranges his players, many simply don’t have the height, timing or aggression to make sure they consistently get to the ball first in the air.

United are a substantially bigger and more physical team across the pitch, but Maguire is their key set-piece threat. James Tarkowski (5.2) and Virgil van Dijk (5) are the only centre-backs in the Premier League to average more headed duels won than United’s captain (4.6) per 90 minutes this season, and his aerial duel success rate is 71.1 per cent.

His header from Fernandes’ corner to seal United’s 2-0 win over Chelsea in February didn’t even exploit any systemic weaknesses; he simply shook off Antonio Rudiger, got to the ball first and powered a header beyond Willy Caballero — a goal that particularly stung those who felt he should have been sent off for catching Michy Batshuayi in the groin with his studs in the first half.

Chelsea have one aerially dominant defender of their own in Zouma. Lampard’s default set-piece plan is to have him and Olivier Giroud — another man who has played very little of the three matches against United this season — zonally marking the six-yard box, free to attack the ball as it comes in while their team-mates attempt to block and disrupt opposition runners.

But given Maguire’s overwhelming physicality and aerial prowess, does the threat he poses call for a more tailored approach? At the very least it would be logical for Lampard to detail Zouma to man-mark him, but there might even be a case for sending two men to ensure he doesn’t connect with any set-piece deliveries. Chelsea opponents often employed similar strategies in John Terry’s prime.

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The nature of United’s team makes them a difficult style match-up for Chelsea. They are fast and clinical enough to turn any loose touches or misplaced passes into dangerous counter-attacks, while also being big and powerful enough to exploit any passivity or misjudgement in set-piece situations. The added creation of the Fernandes-Pogba axis gives Lampard another headache and one that might make this meeting between the two teams look very different from the previous three.

But their three defeats have also yielded moments that should give Chelsea cause for encouragement. They struck the post and bar at Old Trafford before United went 2-0 up and their expected goals on target (xGOT) rating — the metric that accounts for quality of finishing — was substantially lower than their expected goals (xG) value for both matches at Stamford Bridge, indicating that their wastefulness in front of goal was a key reason for both losses.

More clinical finishing at Wembley might be enough for Chelsea to end their recent barren run against United, but the above considerations will also feature prominently in Lampard’s thinking as he plots how to get the better of Solskjaer this time around.

[DDA 9,570]

Nervous is an understatement.

I can't handle those gobshyte United fans boasting 3 straight wins for Ole over Frank. A 4th would be unbearable.

[Strike 6,961]

Cup is there for the taking now. Wonder if this changes the playing XI tonight

[Jype 6,398]

7 hours ago, ZAPHOD2319 said:

With 5 days off, I bet Pulisic and Giroud are in. Sub them out if need be at halftime. 

I don't think anyone is doubting whether they're fresh enough for this game but if they start today, can they play again on Wednesday and still keep their level competitive enough?

And as for the latter point, it's much better to start without them and sub them on at like 60mins or so if needed than starting and then having to sub off early. 

[Vesper 27,310]

Rio Ferdinand predicts where Chelsea FC, Man United will finish

Rio Ferdinand is tipping Chelsea FC and Man United to finish in the Premier League's top four this season

https://www.thesportreview.com/2020/07/chelsea-fc-news-man-united-rio-ferdinand-latest/

[OhForAGreavsie 5,775]

8 hours ago, Jype said:

Solskjaer used the same XI five games in a row

And yet they are favourites to claim one of the remaining Champions League places whereas we, despite rotating significantly, have looked a pathetic side at times.

8 hours ago, Jype said:

Wednesday's game at Anfield is a massive one and we'd be in a much better position to get a result from that if some important players are rested tomorrow.

This has become received wisdom but is it supported statistically? I haven't seen such evidence. Anecdotally at least, the relative form of Chelsea and United argues against this idea. Instead we see that the better team has the better of the play in most games, and, more often than not, the side which enjoys the better of the play wins the match.

Needless to say I don't care what Solskjaer does, but I want Frank to go with his top team. There's room for debate about what that means, but for me it must include Willian, Giroud and Pulli.

[milka 3,308]

[NikkiCFC 7,579]

“I think the standard of refereeing is great, a really high level." 

[NikkiCFC 7,579]

If Spurs get result today I will watch this game much more relaxed.

Frank has to give lineup one hour before the game. I wonder will result at half time in Leicester game influence his decision?

[Jase 43,479]

3 hours ago, Strike said:

Cup is there for the taking now. 

This reminds me of the 2016/17 season...

[Laylabelle 9,296]

16 minutes ago, Jason said:

This reminds me of the 2016/17 season...

That's it. Dont get why seen as easy. They're not a pushover side. Got a draw before against us despite having 10 men and less of the ball..won with ease yesterday and against Liverpool. Its not gana be a one sided game if we do get through.

[OhForAGreavsie 5,775]

1 hour ago, Laylabelle said:

That's it. Dont get why seen as easy. They're not a pushover side. Got a draw before against us despite having 10 men and less of the ball..won with ease yesterday and against Liverpool. Its not gana be a one sided game if we do get through.

Yep. It's taken Arteta a while to decide which pegs go in which places but he's beginning to shape a good side there. A side that won't fear us if we should win our semi-final.

[Atomiswave 6,072]

2 hours ago, NikkiCFC said:

“I think the standard of refereeing is great, a really high level." 

I cant stand this golum.....of course the refs are of high quality when they keep giving you goodies in mass to help you out you deluded manc swine.

[DDA 9,570]

6 minutes ago, Atomiswave said:

I cant stand this golum.....of course the refs are of high quality when they keep giving you goodies in mass to help you out you deluded manc swine.

I'm starting to hate him. His face is 100% punchable. 👊👊👊👊👊

[Atomiswave 6,072]

17 minutes ago, DDA said:

I'm starting to hate him. His face is 100% punchable. 👊👊👊👊👊

He is a coward and a pussy, its clear he is very ok with his players diving all game every game.......takes a special kind of a man to claim they are not divers when everyone can see that is exactly what they are.

Punchable face indeed