Rapkun

Good in europe? He was terrible both times against PSG. First leg our midfield had no intensity and no mobility. We could only regain possession deeper in our own half. The second leg, he was decent in the first half but as soon as Oscar was subbed (no pressing) he was being outplayed by Verratti/Matuidi. I could even make a case for the Sporting and Maribor away games, where he allowed them the space to counter. the liverpool games honestly, you could've chosen a better example than those especially in the cup. 34 year old Gerrard was more mobile than Matic and won every challenge, the Sterling/Coutinho duo was running past him like he was non existent. He also got dragged out of position several times trying to track them and opened spaces for Liverpool to exploit. Now my point is not that Matic is bad, far from that. I think he's a good player. but he's not that world class DM people are making him out to be. He's far too slow and immobile. He lacks the tactical awareness to compensate for it too and he forgets to cover for the marauding Ivanovic or gets caught trying to dictate the tempo like he was doing on a consitant basis at the start of the season. Lack of pressing upfront terribly affect his game and he can't steal too many balls when it happens. I think the tactical aspect has a lot to due with the fact that he was previously an attacking midfielder, and generally I feel about Matic that he's more of a deep playmaker like Fabregas rather than a pure n6. His offensive side of the game is really good, and its showing against the lower sides. but I think we need something different against the top sides to have a chance at winning an european trophy. I didn't suggest a midfield of Fabregas Matic Schneiderlin. I said I would rather have Schneiderlin next to Cesc because I think he's a better defensive midfielder.

I think he's a superior defensive midfielder to Matic. Morgan is more mobile, stronger tactically and faster at releasing the ball. Nemanja has only looked good against the lower sides, where his lack of speed and mobility is less of an issue. he struggles against fast players and when he's beaten he can't do much about it. His midfield partner in Fabregas is not the most dynamic player either, which is why I think the midfield duo is as much of a problem as the center back duo.

He walked over our midfield yesterday. Definitely one of the best midfielders in the league. If I had to guess I think he will end up at Arsenal, terrific signing for them if it happens. Him or Kondogbia could have been good signings for chelsea before we went after Matic and Fabregas.

Matic is a good player but his biggest weakness is his lack of mobility. Maybe that would be fine if he could compensate by his reading of the game but he cant do that either. ramires proved to be better because he has the legs to intercept their passes. Honestly, id rather have Schneiderlin than Matic anytime of the week.

He was fantastic for us in that same fixture last season. Hardly surprising that he pushed them forward. Chelsea fans should know better than anyone that David Luiz is a fighter,

Set piece defending was a complete joke. Even offensively we wasted them. How they let Thiago free after he almost scored 5 seconds ago was mental. JT and Cahill looked like they were defending on each other.

Oscar is there to press high, something he is the best at in the team. This means we will be more concerned about attacking which should satisfy a lot of you.

Took those from canal+ who provided the correct lineups few mins before they are posted last time. Should be the official line-ups.

Sirigu,maxwell,d luiz,thiago,marquinhos,motta,verratti,matuidi,cavani,pastore,ibra. Courtois,azpi,terry,cahill,iva,matic,fabregas,ramires,oscar,hazard,costa

Max Meyer is a very promising player. No wonder he was being played at a very young age.

I must admit, I didnt like michael oliver during the first half but he bossed it during the second. The rest of the referees generally fall for their tricks and get pressured by the crowd and players. Well done.

Di Maria getting what he deserves.. Dives so much when they're looking for a goal. That and the pulling.

Makes no sense to go for Matuidi when we have a similar player in Ramires. Quality player regardless and PSG would be stupid to let him leave.

United and Tottenham are both aiming for top 4 so they will definitely be up for it. Also Southampton, West Brom and Crystal Palace are all tricky games. There's also the fact that City have been terrible at home this season.

Cahill vs Eriksen is going to be ugly to watch.

I don't think Ramires Fabregas is so unlikely to happen, and I'm not too worried about missing Matic in this game. Matic's lack of pressing (physical limitations) at WHL costed us enormously that day, and he was caught out of position several times trying to track Eriksen. Ramires will bring more legs to the midfield and make himself more available when going forward. Oscar Willian Ramires will be key to dominating the midfield. I just hope we don't start Cahill.

I think a lot of you on here have been fooled with the early good results of this season and are more likely overrating this squad we have. This team massively improved from 2 years ago but it doesn't have the quality to dominate games playing attacking football against the biggest sides of Europe. Jose when he was in charge of Real Madrid or even Chelsea during his first stint wasn't as defensive as he is being now and there's a good reason behind it. You don't play a certain football style when your team is unable to. It's basics of football. Mourinho is playing this side to its strengths, being pragmatic at times surely like when we're playing a big side away from home. but this team would get slaughtered if it played with more open tactics. Some of the most obvious examples of this are the games at St James Park or WHL. We lack mobility, speed and technical ability to play at a higher pace and intensity. If we allow too many players to be more adventurous we will be losing possession more often than not and fail to recover it. Jose when he came here for the second time, had to deal with a squad of aging players and very young ones. He was asked for immediate results despite being in a transition period and he delivered. Top 3 in BPL only a few points behind the leader, semi finals of UCL. This season, we are still in a transition period but the expectations are even higher yet I feel a lot of supporters think this squad is complete and is on par with the best teams in Europe.

English teams other than ourselves are very poor tactically. The way City and Arsenal opened themselves to Barcelona and Monaco was very embarassing. I think those teams are just as bad in the BPL as they are in europe, the only difference is that they get to play better and more efficient sides that exploit their weaknesses. For instance, City play a system that leaves much space in their midfield and thus make the defense very exposed and vulnerable to counters but the teams in the BPL are not using it to their advantage or are failing to do it efficiently. Arsenal allow too many of their players to go in their opponent's half including both fullbacks. and when you are left with only Koscielny and MERTESACKER to deal with the counters you know there's a real tactical madness in that team. Jose gets heavily criticized in this forum, but the results he is getting in the UCL speak for themselves. We are the only english team that have a real chance at winning an european trophy.

Pics posted on this thread had the Yokohama logo in white color. Footyheadlines might not even know about the colors that are going to be used, and just added the original colors of the brand.

I know Moutinho was immense but dont let his performance fool you. He has been very inconsistent and generally frustrating for Monaco. Yesterday was easily his best game for his team, and he was given a lot of space to operate. The same could be argued for Kondogbia. He never really impressed or imposed himself in the team since he arrived. Dont forget that both of them came for big money for a ligue 1 team. One player who is worth watching is Bernardo silva. He signed for them in jan from benfica and his potential is huge. He assisted Carrasco for the third goal.

Kondogbia and Wallace have been superb. Arsenal clearly outplayed in the midfield are depending on individual moments. When you think that half of Monaco's team is missing...

Barca's pressing when they lose the ball is unbelievable. City is alright but collectively they're nothing special for a team with so many good individuals. I'm not sure why they decided to start 2 strikers when obviously they were never going to have much possession.

At times, he was the only one occupying the left flank and allowed Eden to move centrally and act as the playmaker. even defensively he was a monster today. The thought of this guy being just a squad player is quite sad.

The nightmare if Cahill somehow starts this one. I bet even he doesn't want to face Kane again.

That Barnes guy managed to dangerously foul all of Ivanovic, Zouma and Nemanja without getting a single yellow card. This has to be some kind of achievement.