Blue Armour

DP

Don't agree with that. Barring injuries, we can definitely challenge for the title this season. Its not going to be one of those seasons where 2nd or 3rd placed teams finish far from the first. This match just handed the reality check that was coming. We are just not outright favorites.

Another one of Tuchel's odd setups costing us the match. Setup too defensively with neither Kante or Kovacic having the ability to carry the ball out of City's high press. Should have changed it at half time, or at least shortly after, seeing how it was clearly failing. But not going to whine about it. He gets it right far more often than wrong, and after this relentless barrage of tricky fixtures, he deserves leeway. City deserved to win this match.

* Provided Kepa is keeping during penalties.

Quoting myself here....but today's match answered my questions a little more. Central midfield it is.

In the second half we became something like the title winning Chelsea sides of yesteryear....a relentless blue machine. Lukaku and Werner looked real dangerous on the break. I'm hoping to see more of that this season, albeit with goals scored!

Whatever the case, it would be daft to let him walk on a free. There's a reason why Rudiger is an almost constant member of our back line. You see all the other 4 position being rotated frequently by Tuchel, but Toni is always there. There maybe better defenders out there, but his character is what makes him unique. Also, he's got bags of pace. According to the latest reports, he's still stalling over an offer. Club's offering 125k pw. Shameful if true, considering how much the non-starters are earning.

Seeing Ronaldo baga brace made me a little tense about this season., but Lukaku really eased that bit of tension. Just relieved to have him on our side. Practically turned two half chances into goals (not too unlike Ronaldo)

Indeed. In his interview he said as much. Tuchel has asked him to be a leader in the dressing room. Reminds me of the time Mourinho asked Didier to be a locker loom leader when he returned in 2014. Hope there is a similar impact. Another good thing here is Lukaku is already joining a trophy winning squad with experience, so it should know how to respond well.

You ass 🤣

Hope we can get Christensen over the line soon. I don't know if Rudiger sees potentially better options out there, but we better offer a high wage package or something to entice him to stay. Sure there might be other CBs with better ability, but I don't want us to sacrifice that mentality and leadership he has displayed over the past few months. That sort of thing is difficult to buy.

Any idea why we're struggling with extending his contract? Or even Christensen for that matter. And to add, we've also lost an experienced defender in Zouma, another member of our CL winning squad. I see City and Liverpool managing to extend contracts of their key defenders, but we're seemingly at risk of losing these guys year. What gives?

He has become a lot better at passing the ball out of high pressure situations. No doubt Tuchel's influence, as I feel the entire team is overall very good at it. And yeah, he has a lot more steel. Hope the accolades will make him motivated to go up another level. Also thought Lukaku did decent considering he was isolated for the majority of the match. VVD is a tough customer, but he practically rolled him over on a couple of occasions. His passing and first touch were wanting on a couple of occasions, but I'm hoping Tuchel can improve that aspect of his play. Will be interesting to see how we rotate in the coming games. Ziyech, Pulisic and Werner won't be happy to remain on the bench for every single game., neither will Chillwell.

Yep. A point at Anfield is valuable anytime

Tbh..he played a lot better than I thought he would. Defensively I mean. Just glad he didn't get caught out of position too many times in the 2nd half.

Supremely disappointed at the sending off. Would have been a comfortable win with a full team., and we could have still nicked a win with 10 men. Also how does Fabinho not get a single card? Anyway. A point at Anfield is always a valuable one in the long run. Let's move on

DP

Hmm..that's the only thing that bothers me. He will become the PL poster boy again. VAR...

Correction: it was mainly because we had Ashley Cole.

Define 'not that good anymore'. If I'm not mistaken, Ronaldo outscored Lukaku last season? He will strengthen United for sure. That being said, I'm actually excited about the added competition this season. Not because rival teams are stronger, but because after a long time we seem to have a squad and manager that can give any other team a good fight. Remember, previous Chelsea teams faced a Man Utd team with a prime Ronaldo and Ferguson and still gave them a fight. Get the popcorn ready.

I said the same when he first joined but a lot of people found him hilarious apparently. Also said I don't even think he is a fan tbh, but whatever.

Well technically Tuchel's Chelsea has beaten them before..

I believe Robertson was on the bench in their last game. Very likely to start.

Agree about Chillwell, which is why I wished he had come on as a sub to get some match fitness. As good as Alonso has been so far this season, Liverpool attack looks dangerous again with Salah and TAA coming down our left flank. Also agree we need a fast runner to play off Lukaku, like Werner or Pulisic. Need to take advantage of their high line.

What a draw. Not only big games, but most of them are away fixtures too.