Pizy

Nothing Saliba could really do there so from that POV it’s harsh, but that’s the kind of decision we’ve been unlucky not to get awarded in recent months. GET IN

Is indeed tough to see where a goal is going to come from, never mind more than one. But I like this XI on paper at least. Hopefully we don’t sit back like a small team and allow Arse to force us into our own half like cowards. Biggest worry by bar will be Saka and Martinelli up against Cucu and Gusto. If we can control those two relatively well this could be a nicely competitive match.

Feels like it’s been 2 months since we last played. I have no idea at all what sort of match to expect with so many players from both sides returning from all over the world. All I can really hope for is that we go toe to toe with them and don’t act like scared punks.

Still a player I think about all the time despite him leaving years ago now. What an absolutely insane talent. It’s really sad that his horrible injury luck combined with his relaxed, “I’m not really bothered to stay in shape” attitude at Real Madrid will be the lasting memory that most people outside of Chelsea supporters will have of him. Many will forget that he was one of the 3-5 best players in the world at his peak in a blue shirt. He almost felt like a reluctant superstar who just wanted to have fun on the pitch but never really cared much about taking care of himself like a modern athlete in terms of fitness. If he was as maniacal in that aspect as other world superstars he’d still be playing at an elite level for a few more years.

It’s moved last a joke or a meme at this point. Chelsea FC is genuinely fucking cursed with injuries. Disasi was really starting to entrench himself in the team and has looked super solid.

Really is kind of a serious dilemma this January regarding the #9 position. A massively expensive new striker basically kills Broja’s chances of ever playing meaningful Premier League minutes barring injuries. If the highly unlikely happens and we spend mega money on Osimhen he’ll be starting every match. And then Nico Jackson is the perfect rotational striker. So where would that leave Armando? As someone so young he can’t rot on the bench for the odd cup game or he never develops further. So on the one hand we can of course use a world class goal scorer in January but in the other it’s super risky. It may perhaps be best if we wait until next summer and hope that the eventual return of Nkunku + our current attackers getting better can see us through to a respectable finish.

He’s playing like a machine out there at times. Oddly, the attacking part of his game seems to have completely left him which is what made him an exciting prospect for the last 5 years. He was great at pressing and scoring goals. Now he still presses like a maniac but doesn’t even look like scoring ever.

Ciacedo has been excellent here again just like last weekend. Long passes looking like Enzo’s!

STERLING IS A MONSTER ON THE LEFT

Enzo the new Kova in front of goal? Simply cannot score easy chances!

Sterling has dominated this game. What a bursting run AGAIN from him.

When we pop the ball around in the final third we create openings and chances. But when we play it back and forth across the middle of the pitch 600 times that’s exactly what Burnley want. Just pick up the damn tempo in the 2nd half!

Sterling has multiple good efforts that he misses and then the worst one scores. I’ll take it!

What did we do in this whole week of training? How do we look this poor when we’ve probably got more time on the training pitch than any big club?

This looks like the Cucu we’ve known. Caught wildly out of position and then panics.

Clear tactical instruction to target our wide defenders who are both playing out of position. They’re just completely bypassing our midfield and hitting out there trying to isolate Colwill and Cucu. And it’s working perfectly.

If Cucu is not going to offer anything going forward he’s GOT to dominate defensively like Azpi. He can’t even do that here…

Of course. One chance, one goal. Whereas we have multiple chances and choke.

A newly confident Mudryk to come on against tired legs makes sense I guess. Especially since Burnley should be expending a lot of energy chasing us around.

Been saying it here for many years and I’ll say it again, PSG are never winning the UCL. They couldn’t do it with much better squads than this current one and they won’t with this one. The level of competition they play against week in and week out over the years has been so beneath them that it’s very hard to suddenly flip a switch when you play clubs that aren’t terrified of you.

United are in as big of a crisis as we are. Maybe worse because of their ambitions at the start of the season. We were just aiming for 4th whilst they had eyes on the PL title and winning the UCL.

More bloody injuries???

Really is night and day having Enzo deeper. It helps everyone. Defenders have a calm, technically excellent players to relieve pressure and Caicedo does as well. Likewise with Gallagher further up pressing and making opponents uncomfortable. This should be the norm from now on. Let Enzo get forward at strategic, opportunistically times but mostly keep him deeper.

Midfield 3 have all dominated. But still a game here if we get sloppy for one moment.

Enzo HAS to be putting this strikes on target at the very least. Those are the sorts of chances he should be feasting on.