DYC.

Lucky bastards. Zabaleta with a moment of madness. City have a very, very slight chance but I can't see Barca giving this away. Which means no distractions at all for the PL.

2-0 up front at half-time in a away match in the CL against one of the best sides in the world. City have nothing to lose and are going all out, of course Barca's on the back foot. They shouldn't be leading 2-0 away from home against City. Barca can't defend? I don't know how to react to that. You win that argument.

Everytime I see Kun, I can't help but think how is it possible he didn't sign for Chels after being heavily linked for three years! Top quality player but sadly he's City scum.

It's funny how City and Arsenal are the most impressive sides on the ball in England, but look no more than decent when facing top sides. No wonder why our own Chelsea struggle so much in possession against quality sides. Simply embarrassing how Barca have made City look at times. Not the least bit surprising either. Sometimes you just have to be honest and admit your inferiority. The English top sides haven't even declined compared to 7-10 years ago imo. In fact, they are very similar and that's the problem. The game has evolved, the demands for top quality have changed and they haven't adjusted in the manner they should have. The importance of proactive defending, the importance of technique in all areas of the pitch (ball-playing defenders, highly technically gifted players in advanced positions), the importance of tactically clever players rather than fighters (you need both but clever players are more important and valuable). The elite sides of today have simply surpassed the old standards of brilliance by quite a margin. English sides still don't value those demands as they should. Italian teams went through a very similar problem, though they're 'decline' was more extreme because they lost their financial power (bye bye quality players) Football will always be unpredictable, and the CL is a cup competition, so there will always be upsets. But the English top sides will never look as impressive as the current elite. Just keep convincing yourself the PL is the best in the world because of the financial power. Unless they change, they'll continue to lag behind.

Costa's incident was a perfect opportunity to get one over Chelsea. The Ivanovic one was so desperate. 'Headbutt'? I didn't even know how to react. Yet elbows and late/disgusting tackles are ignored. And where is the focus on the blatant penalties being ignored? Makes it hard not to accuse the FA of at least some bias.

This tops everything. Costa was public enemy no. 1 after his alleged stamp and they even tried to blow up Ivanovic's minor incident, which didn't even deserve to be called an incident. Barnes almost breaks Nemanja's leg and they make up an imaginary booking (who cares if he was booked anyway, ridiculous rule). Bravo.

Blame the FA. The refs have to follow every rule to the letter. If they don't, they get poor reviews. After suffering a tackle like that, a player should be allowed to react in the manner Matic did. It's not like he punched him in the nose. But the rules state differently, so the ref is forced to send him off. As for the penalties, it's been going on for months. But as long as there's no pressure from the media, it will never be dealt with. But they don't care so I don't see it changing.

Atkinson didn't give a foul for the Barnes tackle, right? Which means he can still be suspended? Looking at the challenge, the witch hunt should be three times the size of the one Costa suffered. Somehow I have this nagging feeling that won't be the case.

Agree with that, most are dealt with. An awful all-round performance by the ref. Their incompetence won't be called into question though, who cares about Chelsea?

Silly assumption in the first part of your post, also irrelevant and unnecessary. Again, Matic is not the first player to concede such a nasty tackle. We've seen players in Chelsea shirts produce some disgusting tackles as well. We've seen worse in football, some come flying in like that. It's not fair but you're not allowed to react in such a manner. Everyone knows that. A very understandable reaction but he cost his team. You don't agree, that's fine.

Matic is not the first player to concede such a nasty tackle. And luckily for him, he was fine. It was understandable but for the sake of his team, he should've kept his cool. A 'normal' shove instead of a full force one would've been enough. Or get him back by fouling him a few times.

Robbed by the ref but at the end of the day, this was a very poor performance. The level of the performances have been very unimpressive for a long while now. Matic really cost the team today, should've kept his cool.

Decent first half. Some decent play but capable of much better. Need to create more chances. Luis has been wonderful. A defender with ball-playing qualities, classy player. Hazard has been good as well. Cesc is not looking good. Cuadrado has hardly been involved. This is the perfect game for him to show his quality. Hoping for much better in the second half. And I called it. No more penalties for Chels this season, not in the PL. This is outrageous. No media attention at all though, typical.

Racists can't support the club because of all the black players or whatever other race has featured for the club? Donald Sterling just told me to say hello. You aren't racist if you say or shout or sing you're racist? ... You've got to be kidding me. Complete non argument. They targeted a black man and pushed him, denying him acces to the metro. And to cause further harm to the man, they decided to sing a disgusting song. There are absolutely no excuses for that. And any focus on their intoxicated state is so silly. Alcohol does not stir up new feelings in a individual. These kind of people make me absolutely sick and have no place in this world. I will never understand how people become that way.

Wow.

Yes.

Mou has been this way for over 10 years and it won't change. When you point it out, you get criticised by his fans. Very strange.

Reoccuring theme of the season: Take the lead, sit back, concede. Unbelievable. Disappointing game. Still in it though. Hoping for much better at home. Rest is so overrated btw. No game during the weekend but it didn't show at all.

Big nose stopping big nose. Thank you.

Disappointing stuff.

Not that I care, but marking does not play a role when a player produces something so wildly unexpected. Credit to Ivanovic for reacting so quickly.

Defended well. Slow in possession, not being able to get anywhere near their box. 1 chance, 1 goal, after a set-piece. Cahill producing an assist with his backheel as if Maradona's soul entered his body and took over.

1 chance, 1 goal. Can you believe it? Both sides don't want to give anything away. Think we'll see more of the same in the 2nd half. Cahillinhodinho with the assist of the season.

Matic, Cesc, Hazard and Diego are all vital in their own way but for me it's Eden. Top performer in both the PL and CL. Scoring and setting up goals, always creating chances, consistent, unstoppable on the ball and the most reliable performer in the big games. Hoping we get to see him put in top, top class performers in the business end of the season, producing some highly memorable moments and showing the world his ability on the big stage. That's all he's lacking in his career.

On behalf of everyone involved with Chelsea Football Club, I'd like to send a very special message to Monsieur Blanc: You can't hide your incompetence with those stupid comments. You are a loser. Looking forward to kicking you out of the competition (again). Happy job hunting in the summer!