DYC.

Ash was IMMENSE, best defender on the pitch for me last night. When there's a lot of pressure, he just reaches a higher level.

I've read a few posts saying this is a very young team. Think people need to take a better look at the squad. There are quite a few young players in the team, pretty much all of them are attacking midfielders, but our team isn't that young. It's no excuse. As for the game and the result, not surprised at all. Good result. I just hope this negative approach won't be the way to for Mourinho in big games. Though I expect it again vs Bayern, probably even worse.

Considering the fact Utd's players are well rested for this match and that they're playing at home (not to forget Van Persie's record against Chelsea in recent years), I'd take a draw. Even a ugly one.

Forgot about that. If that's the case then let's sign Ronaldinho too! Add a little exciting Barca flavour to Chelsea's boring image.

Samu is the true definition of a football legend but this would be too risky if you ask me. Think he's reached the point in his career where he can't perform consistently, at this level, due to a lack of motivation and fitness (age), think Drogba in his final two seasons. Some great performances but also more than a few frustrating ones. Either we go for a quality striker in his prime (still think Dzeko would be great if the Rooney deal doesn't go through, but City just won't let him go it seems) or just stick to with what we have. For me that is.

Can't wait. It doesn't get any bigger than playing against Real. Would love to see Kevin, Juan and Eden start together. Any chance David Luiz is gonna start or even play?

Yeah he really does have a akward style. He's such a interesting player. Some think he's great, some don't think much of him. I personally do like him. Versatile and a real team player, anything but a typical '10 though'. His biggest strengths as a player are off the ball and mental, like with Muller who you mentioned (now that I'm thinking about it, they do share similarities). I think there's goal-scorer in Oscar. The way he moves in and around the box is impressive at times and he's a decent finisher. But he's too selfless. Thinking about what's good for the team is of course a good thing but to become a great player, you need that ability to take charge and produce yourself.Oscar's the player I look forward seeing the most next season at Chelsea as I have no idea how Mourinho will play him. Di Matteo, Benitez, Menezes and Scolari, they all used him in a different role.

Dortmund was quality but Bayern were without Neuer, Dante, Martinez (his back-up Gustavo as well), Schweini and Ribery, that did play a big part in their loss. They were pretty evenly matched throughout the game but Dortmund killed them on the break and Starke was awful. I have to say Bayern v Dortmund is my favourite fixture in football, definitely beats El Clasico.

Klopp's a great manager and having him here would be fantastic but he was never an option. He stated his intent on staying at Dortmund more than once last season. Can't blame him either. He's immensely popular and he built that team himself.Great win for Dortmund. Fully deserved and they'll still be challenging for all titles next season. Gundogan, what a player. Would love to see him in blue some day (this summer if it was up to me).

Good post and I agree with you. GKs and defenders develop a lot slower than players further up front as experience is key in their positions.Still don't understand the decision to keep him here. Maybe Mourinho sees something special in him and will play him quite a lot.. Playing at RB for Vitesse last season has definitely had an effect on his game at CB. It's very difficult to make that transition. A loan to a PL or Bundesliga club, where he would play in the centre again, would do him a lot of good imo.

As much as I like Romelu, I don't think he's ready yet. The days of a striker being just a goal-scorer are long gone, at the very top of football that is. The game has evolved and the striker role is now very demanding. The progress he's booked at West Brom is quite incredible but playing for WBA is completely different compared to playing for Chelsea. I remember the reactions when Ba joined. He scored a lot of goals for Newcastle so he should do even better at Chelsea. That's not been the case at all. Luckily he seems to have the right attitude so if he's patient enough he could definitely succeed and become the main striker in a few years. Don't even get what the rush is, he's 20. It took most top centre-forwards years of game time and hard work before they got to join and then actually become starter at a club of Chelsea's stature. I fully support Mourinho in getting Rooney.

Like I thought, it just didn't make any sense. What a ridiculous offer that would have been, a first offer as well.

The funny thing is, Mourinho and Mata haven't even met yet. You'd think a manager would at least like to get look up close for a few weeks before making such a huge decision. And because of that, I never thought those stories were true.

Juan Mata was bought for a fee around €25 mil back in 2011 and signed a 5 year contract. In his time here he has developed and become much better player since he arrived, becoming a household name in world football. He's added a FA Cup, CL trophy, EL trophy and European Cup to his CV in his time at the club and has won Chelsea's Player of the Year award twice. Still only 25-years-old, his best is still to come. The fees clubs have been paying for players have increased by quite a bit compared to even just two years. So Mata's price has absolutely skyrocketed since he joined Chelsea. Wayne Rooney is 27-years-old, has two years left on his contract and just came off a season that will not go down as one of his best. He's the highest paid player in England if you believe the papers and he has made it clear that he wants to leave, not for the first time either. The club then decides to not only offer a rival club one of the key players of the team, they offer a good amount of money on top of it. Now if you add all those things up, it doesn't quite make sense. So either this is all just a lie or the people in charge have gone mad. (Even the part about David Luiz does not make any sense. Defenders are worth less than attacking midfielders which means one combination is worth significantly less than the other.)

Exactly. I was about to post something similar.Barca's options in midfield: Busquets/Song/Xavi/Thiago/Iniesta/Fabregas Real's options for the '3': C. Ronaldo/Ozil/Di Maria/Kaka/Modric/Callejon Bayern's options for the '3' mentioned above These were our options: Hazard/Mata/Oscar/Moses/Marin (and Benayoun for half a season) That's a huge gap in quality, Marin and Benayoun weren't even good enough to offer anything last season. If we want to up there with the big boys again, we need more quality. The quality of the team decreased dramatically as soon as Mata or Hazard didn't start. We were lucky they both managed to play as much as they did, that might not be the case coming season. With Schurrle and the return of Kevin we're already so much stronger. Schurrle might not be a worldbeater but he's good enough to start every now and then. And he offers us different qualities while the coach can also shuffle things a lot more tactically. His presence will also make sure his competition will have to perform to keep their place in the first XI. And not to forget, this also means our players will be better rested resulting in more consistency throughout the season. Now we only need to add a quality striker, I'm sorry but Lukaku iw not good enough (yet), and central midfielder to the team. If we do that, I don't see why we can't win the league.

I personally was against the signings of Sheva and Torres but with this guy I couldn't care less about the monsterous fee. He's perfect for us and there's no doubt in my mind that he would succeed. It's not just his ability but also his confidence and mental strength which makes him such a great player. He has that same kind of aura Drogba has, a great belief in his own ability. I'd sign him within a heartbeat so a club like Real won't beat us to it. Add Cavani, Schurrle and my fantasy buy Gundogan (add the return of De Bruyne to that) to the team and we'll win the league.

There's a truth in what your saying but we all know Pellegrini is joining them, just like we knew Moruinho was coming here before he was officialy appointed (and I think he had a say in their signings, wouldn't be the first time something like that happened).But back to Mourinho, I'm mostly wondering how he'll make the team play. Pre-season matches, especially against inferior opponents, won't say much so I guess the signings he'll make will 'reveal the most' until the season actually starts.

They're good signings though. They're actually bringing in players that were needed, didn't expect that at all tbh.And come on, we all know it's gonna be Pellegrini in charge. I hope we don't take too long to strengthen our squad. Appointing Mourinho and all is fine but signing a few quality players is what we truly need to compete.

I think it's because he's building something beautiful at Dortmund, a European powerhouse in a league that could soon be the very best.It doesn't really matter who we appoint but I'm with Seb on Martinez.

He was in the box.

Mata was very poor? He created and played a key part in plenty of chances but they simply weren't converted.We were slow all game, bar the last 5 min of the first half, but we managed to score twice. We concede and instead of going for the kill, we continue play in the same slow tempo. But the manager doesn't decide to make any changes until very late in the game, not for the first time too. The changes weren't even adventurous. I can't stand cautios managers. (I don't blame the manager entirely for the loss but he did play a big part in it imo.)

Demba is turning out to be a real Bargain.

Commentator confirmed it was the Southampton fans booing him. There actually a light cheer for Torres from the Chelsea fans.

Someone needs to tell Eden he's left-footed.

The club loves high profile managers so we might as well appoint Sven Goran Eriksson. He probably wouldn't last long but it would be a fun and interesting ride for sure.