DYC.

Stop lying.

I remember all those 'best striker in the world' and 'better and more important than Hazard' posts so it's funny to see how the general perception has turned so viciously. While his performances of late are concerning and frustrating, people need to get a grip. Chels are still winning games with him in the team. Chels are still on top with a strong lead. Chels are still in the FA Cup. He's been bad but it's not that deep. His current form does not erase what he did in the first half of the season. Costa has been key to Chelsea's probable title win.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/8/main/2017/04/13/34579872/modric-hailed-as-world-class-at-spurs-and-madrid-but-what?ICID=HP_FT_4 Completely agree with this. I remember the Oscar vs Coutinho days years back, and I said Eriksen trumps both. I still stand by that statement. Such a clever player and a quiet force.

Fades in and out of games. A couple of good plays and maybe a moment of magic, and then fades away for a certain period of time (too long of a time). If he were to join, I'm convinced Pedro would keep him on the bench. His stamina and upperbody strength needs work. And he needs to become a bigger presence by improving his positional sense and play with more authority by demanding the ball more. I would love to have him though if Sanchez doesn't join. Could become a top player in a few years. The natural talent is definitely there.

Let's not lose our heads over Mbappé. There's no bigger Kylian fan than me but he's not fit the lead the line of a top side, expected to perform game after game. That's too much pressure. He's 18. Even his body is still developing. And he still has to experience dips in form and off field distractions. Monaco sold Martial for 50 mil in 2015. No chance of getting Mbappe for a similar amount. Regardless, for the sake of his own development, I hope he stays put for at least two more years.

Someone who's been around for a very long time and is still capable of producing the goods in his/her respective field.

It wasn't a misunderstanding. He started up top but was outperformed by Dolberg in the same role, who is the superior talent. He's lucky he has a manager who likes him and forced him into the side as a wide forward.

Dani Alves is such an OG. I rate Lahm as much as anyone but Dani is my guy as the rightback of that generation. Love that guy. And his defensive prowess has always been very underrated by (too) many for me. Alex Sandro is top class. Technically, tactically, physically. The man has it all. Brazil being able to pick from Sandro, Luis and Marcelo is ridiculous. Dybala with a nice demonstration on the difference between good players and top players. Players like Costa, Lukaku, Kane would've taken two, three extra touches and might not even have released a shot. Because of the level of awareness Dybala possesses and his ability to think and act so quickly, he just needed two touches for his first goal and one for his second. He has his first big moment now and I hope many more will follow. Wonderful player Higuain has the quality but lacks the mental fortitude for a true world-class striker. Can't take the heat. Time and time again he's failed to decide big and/or high pressure ties. He looks heavy btw. Chiellini is a beast. For some reason he's never been very popular but he's been such a great defender for years and he's still going. Bonucci is a fantastic ball-player but he doesn't touch Chiellini defensively. Great win for Juve. Real team performance. Barca need to make some changes. Balance is completely off.

He looks like he's got some mileage on him but he's dressed like a schoolboy allowed to go to games on his own. Don't tell me he's a young man suffering from Arsenalitis?

I don't understand this logic. Playing alonside Zidane, or whoever you're favourite player is, and playing under him are two completely different things. Zidane can't teach anyone to do what he did as a player. That's natural talent. And it's not like Zidane has proven to be some magician who gets the best or somehow improves players either. He's just the manager. The thought of playing with my favourite player is a nice fantasy but him being the manager of the team I play for doesn't excite me at all. But maybe I just don't get it.

Tbf, it was two seasons (13/14+14/15) and a brilliant World Cup in between as well. Can't say I've been impressed in the past two seasons. Shame, really.

One thing he does exceptionally well, especially for a player with his level of skill, balance and quickness of feet, is his ability to shield the ball and plant his body in front of the ball to absorb challenges. He wins a lot of fouls because of this skill and has also won his side more than a handful of penalties this season. Seeing footage of him receiving the ball in the box and somehow manage to get himself fouled is hilariously brilliant stuff. He's a wily one.

Quality player. What impresses me the most about him is how he plays with such authority. He's so confident and fearless. Always keeps his head up and remains in control even when put under pressure. And he's always looking to play the ball forward. His dribbling and passing combined with his energy and speed could have a great impact on Chelsea's transitions. Wouldn't be mad at this (potential) signing at all. I can imagine him playing alongside Kanté in Europe (you could even add Fabregas for a midfield three). In the PL you rotate between Kanté, Keita, Fabregas and Matic depending on the size and physicality of the opposition. I've heard comparisons with Kanté all season and they are so lazy btw. They're not the same at all. Keita is a good footballer.

He's never signing a new contract then. Wonder if this will prompt the club to sell him in the summer since he only has two years remaining. Maybe one final full season.

I remain hopeful he'll return and become a mainstay. I'd be extremely disappointed if that wasn't the case and wouldn't ever raise my hopes concerning youth players again.

Ibrahimovic's exploits in the PL at the age of 35, his debut season as well, is the stuff of legends. Don't think it's highlighted enough. It's the most physically demanding league around. And he's a striker. That's the hardest position to play and the position in which players suffer the sharpest declines. 35. Juggernaut.

Best player on the pitch yet again. Keep on truckin, Eddie.

That Utd game has a draw written all over it. Would be great to take the points home though. Hazard is gonna show just how lit he is right now. Southampton has to be won and I think the boys will manage to beat Everton as well.

Disagree with the crossing. He's a decent crosser. His FKs have been good. Not much to go by though. Great goal. Keep it coming if possible.

Alonso The Lipless! Great goal. I don't like it when Luiz takes FKs.

Cahill's passing, haha. As soon as he notches up the difficulty from simply passing to the nearest team mate and dribbling into a vast amount of open space, he becomes so painful to watch on the ball. God bless that donkey

Laughed when that Costa shot went in. Completely scuffed a shot a striker of his calibre should burry and was never going in. But after I saw how much it meant to him, I couldn't help but feel happy for him. Of course they scored a deflected shot after so a draw in terms of lucky goals. That Hazard goal was the work of a boss. Moved up and waited for the pass alongside the last defender, takes the pass in his stride, charges towards goal and only thinks about putting it in the net. He adds his typical Hazard class by going past the GK of course. Strong performance from my man yet again. Didn't think he'd be scoring like this at this point of the season. Might get a strong tally after all if he continues like this. Enjoyed most of that first half. Chels were in control. There was an idea behind every pass, players were taking up good positions. It's been a while since I saw such serenity and control. Can't keep a clean sheet though. Should win this comfortably regardless. Just don't let them control the ball.

My problem with Costa is his head. Chels can't afford to sit on their arse and let Costa lead the dance with his inconsistent commitment to the club. I'd love to see Chelsea invest big in Belotti (or Aubameyang) and then tell Costa (his agent) he can choose to stay and extend his contract or leave. The signing would show that the club will move on regardless. The club should be able to afford two star wages in just one position in the squad (won't last long anyway) if it comes to that. But the thought of not getting a quality striker and Costa possibly becoming unhappy and this affecting his form during the season or him demanding to leave at a random point during the summer or winter window does not sit well with me. Chels needs to be in control.

Why would being cheaper matter? Chelsea have money. Get top quality whenever you can. Sanchez is better than Costa. Costa was a monster in those first few months after joining Bayern but he's back on earth for a while now. Of course, if Chels have no chance of getting a player like Sanchez and others like him then, yeah, sure. But there's a reason why a 34-year-old Ribery still gets the nod over him when he's fit. Can't believe Ribery is still performing at 34. Especially with his injury history. Same goes for Robben on the opposite flank but he's always been very underrated. Same could happen to Hazard if he doesn't excel in the CL. That was Ribery's problem.

As well as things are going, I do wonder about the state of mind of the basically confirmed squad players/fillers. Outside of XI + Fabregas and Willian, the rest have been dealt scraps. Keeping a happy squad is one of the main tasks of a manager after all. And it's all good and well when the results are going your way, but as soon as you hit that first setback, whether that's because of results or injuries, I imagine you'll be in (some) trouble. Are they in the right and required mindset? How well do they play when suddenly called upon? Are they in tune with their team mates? How long does it take for them to complety understand the system and tactics? Or maybe him not using those players is because he doesn't rate them? But that doesn't make complete sense because that's a lot of players to replace. Schedule will be far more demanding next season so I don't think he can just count on thirteen players. It will be an intriguing summer I guess.