CHOULO19

JUVE! Hope we can keep it up in the second half. Can't get complacent, Bayern can score two in a minute! Need to go for the third that will kill it off.

Luckily for him though, we've mercifully set the standard for title winners so low this season, I really doubt they'll be able to pass under it, no matter the circumstances next season!

No, obviously the team has to always go for the win no matter what which is one of the corner stones of sportsmanship in any sport. That said, I obviously won't be upset if we lose to Leicester if the game at the Bridge is the title decider.

Thibaut was stepping into enormous shoes last season and very few had many issues with the decision. In fact, most wanted him to replace Petr even in the season before that. He isn't get stick because he's replaced Cech, he's getting stick from the fans because he's let in a soft goal in almost every single match since his return from injury. So the criticism can't be dismissed as fans nostalgia for Cech. He HAS been poor lately and the criticism is valid and deserved.

If we go with a 'full strength' (LOL) XI, I genuinely don't know if I can get myself to watch.

No, sorry that second goal should not count. That shot should be illegal!

Even if he did not actually bite him, his actions were incredibly stupid...yet again! Along with Fabregas, he is our most important player, but he needs to go because he's damaging the image and sportsmanship values of the club.

Two things about that comparison: 1- Cudiccini's career and what he did for the club is not even on the same planet as Cech's (and I adore Carlo, but that's just a fact). 2- Till now, Thibaut at the level that Petr was at in 2004. I get why the comparison is 'tempting' but it really doesn't logically stand.

I don't think that he let the crowd get to him, it's just that he didn't let the antics of our players, particularly Costa, to get to him. Whether we'd like to admit it or not, we are one of the most difficult sides to referee. Unfortunately, our players surround referees more than most teams, we have quite a few players who go down too easily and simulate like all of Willian, Pedro and Kenedy did yesterday, and then you have Costa.... We're a nightmare for refs and it's part of the reason why so many of our matches have refereeing controversies.

Never thought I'd say this about a Chelsea player, but for the love of football, just LEAVE! Absolute disgrace to the club and all that is stands for.

That's the thing, though. There are no risks as there is nothing left at stake. There is no excuse not to do it...

Thanks, I needed the laugh..

Absolutely NO reason whatsoever not to start youth from now till the end of the season. And no one give me that top half or even EL crap. It makes absolutely NO difference and EL would only make getting a CL place next season.

Can we just fucking sack all the players and every single one involved in the club and just start over from scratch?! Oh, and Costa in particular, just leave ffs. What a disgrace to the club...

Whoever turned 'fouls' off in the settings for this match should really turn it back on...

Not a bad lineup at all given that Hazard is out. Everton is one side where I'm not particularly worried about having Fabregas in the #10 spot against.

I won't judge him based on the PSG game as he was obviously playing injured, but overall his season has been nothing short of disastrous. Will be interesting to see if he decides to stay next season and fight to get back to his best or will he decide to jump ship?

Is it me, or have they actually alternated from one game to another? First game after JT's injury was Iva left and Cahill right, then against Norwich it was definitely the other way round because I made a point to take notice. If I'm not mistaken, then it's very weird as you'd want your back four as settled as possible.

Tbf, it's also quite a change going from JT to Ivanovic playing next to you...

Azpi has been worryingly shaky since Guus' return and he keeps making a lot if mistakes. He's been no where near as solid at RB as he was at LB...

Thought I was going crazy with that 'zero interception' stat. Actually downloaded the match to check if I am still sane, and literally two minutes in an interception that created our very first chance of the match: I never said that Mikel is not a limited player. He's limited by his pace, mobility and attacking instinct. But he also does the non-glamorous stuff that could be vital for a team like covering for his midfield partner and fullbacks, positional awareness and tactical discipline, physical and aerial strength in midfield (which we sorely missed when Matic was playing instead this season) and ball retention and safe circulation. His defensive numbers are lower than expected (not THAT low, btw) because defensively he's a player that contains rather than destroys. He forces plays wide, blocks passing lanes, occupies important space...etc. Btw, I don't think many people would have thought that Mikel was our MOTM (he undoubtedly had a good game, though nothing extraordinary). But I thought he was because of the tactical role he played both in pressing and keeping Di Maria quiet. Costa got most votes for MOTM because he scored a brilliant goal but in reality for most of the match he was just walking of at best jogging when he didn't have the ball at his feet because it was very clear that he was playing while injured (which Guus confirmed after the game). If anything, Cesc was probably the player that 'shone' the most...

I used stats about specifics, I don't use stats to evaluate a player or even a single performance of his, and certainly not those stupid 'scores'! So, when someone says that Mikel only passes backwards, yes, the stat about how many of his passes are forward of backwards, is relevant. Even if the stat, is not 100% right, because they never are with those sites, it is still a valid point. Pass completion, which you mentioned, yes can be misleading in a single game, but when a player constantly has the highest pass completion rate for game after game (and in this case season after season) then it is very much a valid point to say that this player is able to circulate the ball safely. Player ratings and scores, on the other hand, are borderline meaningless because they convey next to no useful information.

Yeah, I don't mean that it's actually Willian's fault. Someone should have picked him up once he went into the box. But obviously all of this would have been irrelevant had Kenedey and especially Cahill not made huge mistakes in the goal. That's just simply false as I remember, off the top of my head at least two interceptions he made inside PSG's half that set up attacks for us. One of the reasons why those stats and ratings mean little...