CHOULO19

Watched it and if I hadn't checked the lineup before the game I probably wouldn't have known he was playing.

And you JUST noticed now?!

THREE FUCKING YEARS TOO LATE! Nonetheless I hope this is true. Who the hell is Sami Mokbel?!

Problem is we don't have a very convincing replacement. That's why I said had Baba came up with a performance like RLC yesterday we wouldn't be even having this conversation. It's all a balance with A LOT of factors involved. Of course Jose and the board are to blame. We've needed a top CB and another fullback from two seasons now. That's 4 transfer windows where we've failed to address that. Really? Regardless of what happens? What if all of Arsenal's keeper get into a huge fight and they all injure each other and Wenger has to goal himself?!

Yeah, but thing is it's never that simple as you always have hope in the possibility that Iva will improve because you know he's better than what you've seen while with Baba you don't know if he can do better because you've never seen him do for Chelsea. So in a crucial game like Arsenal Jose tends to go with players he knows and I tend to agree with him on that. Even if Iva returns to his form of last season (which was still not good enough for me) it would be worth the risk of playing him.

LOL

Yeah I think Hazard should be benched and not just because of yesterday but the whole season so far. But Jose won't do it especially with both Pedro and Willian out because he can still come up with that one moment of magic. Costa I'm not a huge fan of generally an not just now but he remains our best striker. We don't have better options than him so he has to start. Not sure what your basing your assumption that "Baba has much more to offer than Ivanovic" on. Surely can't be based on yesterday's performance?! It's not about Azpi it's about who will be our second fullback. Think it will be Rami and Iva on the right. Had Baba put in a great performance like RLC did I think he would be starting instead.

Better than Ivanovic on current form is not really saying much. Still was rather average and got exposed against the worst side we've played against in years. If I were Jose I'd still start Iva in the hope he remembers that he's a defender for Chelsea FC. I'm actually pretty confident that that's what Jose will do.

People should REALLY stop putting Baba in their lineups before it gets ugly...

Just me judging by the MOTM poll. How the hell did Baba get more votes than him?!

Wolf in a Hazard clothing! #PostLikeTermX

No because Jose just confirmed that both Pedro and Willian are out of this one. So, Ramires on the wing and it will definitely be Cahill and not Zouma in defense.

Thought he was rather poor, to be honest. Got beaten too easily and his positioning and anticipation were poor on many occasions so he kept misjudging and getting beaten by those balls over his over his head. Maybe he was just nervous but he'll certainly to do a lot more if he is to become a starter. I think everyone just wants his performance to be great because we all want Iva dropped, but I just don't think it was, tbh.

The confidence from the win is invaluable and incredibly needed. That said we can't really take anything away from the game because the opposition were just so poor. No offense to Maccabi who absolutely earned this in the qualifications but they are NOT UCL level by any stretch of the imagination. Our performance itself was not great. We still looked way too slow and often out of ideas and had to rather rely on Maccabi mistakes (which were luckily plentiful). But some players did look more determined and certainly grew in confidence as the game went by. In particular, Azpi, Oscar, Costa and Garry Cahill who put in a real captain's performance and was my MOTM. RLC had a great game as well and really ran the midfield. Can honestly say he was better than Matic has been so far this season but that said I expect Nemanja back in the side vs Arsenal at the weekend. But I thought Baba was average at best. Not sure where the praise he's getting comes from. Well, actually I'm sure that it comes from the desire to see Iva benched. Why we did not go out and get a fullback who is actually starting XI material I will never know. Finally Hazard, just bench him for his own good. He's ripping apart his own confidence with his poor form. Bench him for a couple of games, take the pressure off and then bring him in a low-pressure match.

I feel like I'm watching a game from the Lebanese league or something That's how poor the level of the match has been so far! PS: Ben Haim is still shit, isn't he?

Tactically he was the most important player on the pitch. He was the focus point of Juve's counter attacks because of his ability to get early crosses in. He was responsible for most of Juve's dangerous attacks and should have had an assist in the first half had Morata not gotten needlessly involved from an offside position.

beIN have 16 channels in the middle east. Would be hard to find a UCL match that isn't broadcast live.

LOL Didn't even know they had coverage in Australia. Those Qatari bastards want to monopolize world football and they have the unlimited resources to it!

USA?

And those were some pretty tough questions being thrown his way. He handled that beautifully. Remy and Fabregas aside, no one in our squad is even close to being that good at handling the media.

That awkward moment when Asmir is better drilled at handling the media than most managers: I just love this guy. Future manager material.

City under Pelligrino have always failed to adjust according to their opponents. You can't just 'play your game' in Europe....unless you are 2010-11 Barcelona, that is.

Btw, Cuadrado was probably the best player on the pitch. Sterling undoubtedly the worst. Fernandinho looked immense for about 70 minutes.

City, or rather Pellegrino, have been tactically outclassed by a very well-drilled Juve team despite being gifted a goal by the ref. Juve's pragmatism is why they do so well in Europe.

Another one? Really?? Our luck so far this season reminds me of this song: