Mohammed Seif

You think that would stop them?

Beautiful assist from Mata. I am happy for him.

LOOL. I was nervous before the game and now with the line up I MUCH MORE NERVOUS. I want us to get the 3 points by any means and now I also want Salah to have a great match since it is the first time he starts for Chelsea. Having said that, I am optimistic.

Mata took that free kick very well. Good shot

I thought it was so clear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well they deserved a goal, they have been playing better than city in the first half. I don't want to get my hopes up. But I am just hoping City drops points here.

That is a quick start for City

I haven't posted here before so that would be my first. I have visited this page many times though and I just love the atmosphere from everyone. Don't think it will is the same without Kevin though. I'd be happy when he comes back

Don't you think it might be a bit risky? Frankly I want some players to get some rest before PSG. But to me the EPL is not over yet.

He had an interview yesterday on beIN sports. Would have loved to share it but it is in Arabic and sub titles. But every time this kid speaks he impresses me at this age. He said that the closest players to him right now are Luiz, Ba and Hazard. He said he was very happy with the way all the players and managerial staff welcomed him in the club. Life in England is easier for him than in Switzerland and he is adapting. When the host asked him about his thoughts about Mourinho saying that next season he will play an important role in the team, he replied by saying that he was happy about this but that doesn't mean that he has to wait for next season. He believes that he has to work hard from the moment he arrived. He does not have to wait till next season, but by working heard he may earn the chances of playtime this season and he has to keep fighting for it. That was a very responsible answer to me and reflects a fighting character. I hope he maintains it and his backs this up with hard work and actions.

I get your enthusiasm and passion for PSG friend and it is all good:) I wasn't trying to take anything away from PSG. I was rather trying to be objective with the tactical shifting that occurred. I was emphasizing on two points: 1- You took the 2nd half from us because of midfield 2- You were not very dangerous and Cech was didn;t have much trouble ( though he perormed badly in the ONLY shot on target-your 3rd goal) Now surely that takes nothing from PSG, right:)? As far as City is concerned, I think you missed the three shots that hit the bar and the posts You gotta watch the entire game to know how we played and judge on that. Highlights don't really tell you how good a team performed tactically on the pitch

As far as pressure is concerned you gotta look back at the game again carefully friend. You had possession in the second half but no real threat. You definitely we VERY DANGEROUS on set pieces in the first and 2nd half. But how many saves was Cech forced into? I can't remember, so feel free to remind me. There was a good chance in the second half from a header (by Cavani if I am not mistaken) that went on top of the bar but was close. Other than that, I didn't feel the heat of your attack. Still you took your chances well and capitalized and you earned that.

Actually mate we can and we have played for 90 mins like this in more than one game like Special Juan said. I would like to point out that we did not change tactics at all. The way we played the first half was exactly the way we were trying to play in the second half. The difference was Ramires and Luiz. With their yellow cards they weren't as physical as they usually are and Willian, Oscar and Hazard had to make up for that. Mind you also we were not playing in either halves with a striker (unless you consider Torres one:)) so we just made it harder for ourselves to transition offensively. I think that eased up the pressure on your midfield and you can clearly see them more comfortable allowing PSG to dictate play in the 2nd half.

True. But come on man it Spurs

That is more than a shake up man That is a brand new team.

I will start with the last part I balded. I don't remember I saw that either. I don't also remember having an Egyptian in a top team like Chelsea. Sorry to talk about Salah, but we came to agree about some things. That he is young, needs time and under Jose, he can be moulded into the player Jose wants. How much he succeeds depends on him and how hard he works. Now I will use that to jump to my first balded statement you made, Oscar's age. Oscar born 1991, Salah 1992. Any significant difference? Nope. I can argue that the foundation of Oscar is better than Salah's easily, but is that gap of any significance? Maybe SLIGHTLY. But the fact is Oscar can too be moulded to whatever Jose wants. His defensive game changed A LOT this season and is better than last season. Did it effect him offensively?Yes. But it is only part of a player's development curve and the tasks that Jose gives. I think him being a Brazilian is just part of the pressure he gets currently and raises expectations out of proportion. That is expected coming from the top nation in football but unrealistic at his age. I think Willian will improve if he haves that heart to fight and prove himself, but not as much as Ocar will improve if he too has that fighting heart. Simply because of the age factor. Willian style is more or less defined, but Oscar still has a few years ahead that will shape his style. I haven't seen any young Brazilians in the EPL in early development stages at AM to say he can't make it. I have seen DEVELOPED Brazilians in the EPL who were good but their DEFINED style of play did not suite the EPL. It can turn out either way, but objectively speaking, I think he has much more chances to succeed than fail in the EPL. I would rather see him (like, Salah, Schurrle, Hazard, Azpi, Zouma, Willian and other youngsters) develop slowly and steadily, than have him rise so fast and drop even quicker. Robinho, and Adriano are two examples I can think of in Brazil. There are many more I could mention around the world. They will make it. I can see it in their characters.And I am going to enjoy it as they do make it step by step .

Too early Barbara. Gotta disagree with you on this one. I think it is too early to judge. First season under Jose, he adapted well to his defensive duties for sure. He is yet to combine that with his offensive ability that most people know he has from his performances with Brazil. I would give it till winter break of next season to get to that conclusion. You may be right at the end, but it is too early to make that decision. Not to mention that most of the time the problem is not with Oscar individually. Most of the fans agree that our offensive approach as a whole is still not quiet there yet. We are playing without a striker too that would force creativity from Oscar and Willian. We praise Schurrle because of his runs and space creation, but he too is inconsistent. Also no body seems to be doing that as often as they should. If Oscar was always the "weakest link" I would agree. I don't think that is the case. We have seen a lot of inconsistencies from our midfielders as a whole. They are still young, adapting like you said and playing under a VERY demanding coach who requires exceptional work rate. Mourinho acknowledges that we are not offensively in the shape he would like. I see him working on this during preseason. I see a diffrent Chelsea next season as far as Oscar, Willian, Hazard, Schurrle and our offensive approach is concerned. Don't give up yet. All in good time.

To be honest man and with respect to your opinion and experience, I have seen goal keeper take charge and control better than this. Now that @mediator, posted a reply, we can see it again. He took some steps forward, hesitated and went back while ball curling in the middle towards him. You expect a Keeper to do more than just save long shots. You expect him to deal with one on ones, coordinate/lead his defense, sets his wall. Dealing with crosses is part of his job. I don't know about the press, but what I saw was MINIMAL contact. Not a tackle, a push, an elbow. It was NO foul to me but again I ain't the ref and maybe I need to get my eyes checked.I don't think the ref was doing a decent job yesterday either. And even if it was a foul mate. It is not a penalty. teams should be able to defend set pieces and keepers should dominate their area. It is the ONLY AREA ON THE ENTIRE PITCH where they have control AND protection. I don't blame Cech for the first goal. Surely he should have been speaking with his defenders ( I don't know if he did or didn't), but I blame Terry because it was a poor clearance. I can blame Luiz for not doing a good job pressing and losing the midfield area with Ramires in the second half. But I just can't blame him for either that "foul" or the goal. It is only my opinion though.

Ofcourse, I will never deny you this right and I totally respect it.

Ok take it is easy I am only using "ifs and buts" because there is now way you or I would know cause it didn't happen. It is all based on assumptions, right buddy? As many people have said, Eto links up well with Hazard. Recently " Skipper" was saying this and I totally agree. He links up with our AMs better than Torres and Ba. That for sure could have helped us last night in my opinion. Shcurrle did a decent job upfront as far as pressing their defense, and constantly running and dragging a defender with him to create for others to exploit. However offensively he did not pose any threat. A good striker does what Schurrle did last night AND threatens the opponents goal. Terros failed in both of these areas last night. Eto is in better form. I don't think something magical could have happened as far as offensive display is concerned, but definitely could have helped us. With regards of how Mourinho criticizes his strikers, I am quiet sure that it is an aggressive attitude. Would I accept it? No, but I am not a professional player. As a professional I should be doing my job. I take money to do that. Part of the job description is to score. I know, all strikers face a dry spell and that is 100% correct. But that is no excuse for not performing your other tasks on the field. It has nothing to do with making runs, creating space, posing threat, LINKING UP WITH YOUR TEAMMATES and other things you are suppose to do. They should be men enough, and have the character to acknowledge their short comings and try to rectify them. I now Eto tried. Not just because he scored and gave that old man celebration after Mourinho's conversation was leaked, but he just stepped up as far as doing his job is concerned only to be stopped by his injury. I don't know what is wrong with Torres or Ba, but I'd love to see some character from them other than complaining about it or using it as an excuse. And it is not like Mourinho keeps criticizing them only. He criticizes our midfielders who get chances and don't score. I don't see them complaining. I see them trying. It is all about the mentality man, how you approach it. Eto has that fighting spirit, but he is just getting old, same as Lampard, and Terry. But not Torress or Ba. No fighting spirit at all. Not trying to make things happen, but waiting for things to happen. Having Schurrle up front doing half a striker's duty is better than having a striker who does nothing. Look man maybe I don't have much of an experience as a football player. I only played at high school level and the streets of Kuwait, amateur Latino league for three years during summer time when was in the U.S.A and at the NCAA level during fall time. But that was enough for me to know that when my coach would yell at me, it is not because he hates me, it is only because there is something I am not doing or I am doing wrong and I have to fix it. It is never personal and it just meant that I had to keep on digging on my craft. If I, as a no body, an amateur or whatever you wanna call my brief, experience can understand that, a professional player who has been playing for an academy, big clubs, big leagues and WC winner should understand that too. I can't blame this one on Mourinho. Maybe I can critic some of the other substitutions, but not starting Schurrle or criticizing the strikers

Regardless of how people want to evaluate Luiz's performance over the season but in my opinion, that second goal, not his mistake. If you have a cross in the MIDDLE OF THE 6 YARD AREA, then the keeper should just charge at, catch or punch. THIS IS HIS ZONE. the fact that it missed the defenders, attackers, Cech was watching, and fell underneath Luiz's foot all of a sudden while was running doesn't make it his mistake. That goal, must be Cech's responsibility. You can debate other goals, but to blame the 2nd goal on Luiz is just too harsh.

Though I agree with you that Eden's teammates need to improve and step up, having three players covering Eden is not a bad thing. It means three players are going to be out of position (or atleast two) and there is space that they left and we should take that to our advantage. But yes like you said it requires Willian, Oscar, Schurrle to step up and ofcourse Eto and the strikers.

Well, I think there is a good chance that it would have been more in our favor

Any news if he will be ready for the 2nd leg?

I just want to know, but did his arrival contribute significantly (financial wise) as far as sales and ads are concerned? We don't get that kind of info here. But I know that amongst the regular spectators here, people weren't thrilled about him but always showed some support.