OneMoSalah

Ampadu in for Cahill would be nice. Dont think the team will be too dissimilar to that.

Honestly I think second half everybody in defence stepped it up and its unfair to just single out Alonso, despite how poor he has been recently (and that there are a lot better options out there) and when you consider how we played higher up in the second half, he was more involved offensively and it helps him because hes not being isolated defensively, not only him City were trying to isolate both fullbacks and pressing with a great intensity. In all fairness Mahrez and Sterling arent exactly easy to play against either, in a team where the quality from midfield is excellent and watching only highlights or using highlights from a 90 minites game is lazy, ofcourse they're going to show Sterling beating Alonso with ease because it led to a chance..... Mahrez destroyed Azplicieuta a few seasons ago and Azpi has been regarded as the best 1 v 1 defender in England for seasons now, Alonso faired better today with those guys in the second half than Azpi did in that match for me. Mahrez also gave many full backs a tough game that season and will continue to do so, as will Sterling who is probably the most inform player in England and has been for arguably the last 8 or 9 weeks consistenly deciding games for City too, hence why hes been involved in more goals than anybody in the PL this season. Sane on the other side too, a top top player, Azpi really kept him in check (thought his whole match was brilliant) and when he didnt we managed to do fine.

Walker would of beem found out defensively yesterday though. He would of been good as a right wing back in a 343 and with Azpi on that right side center back role it would have been a good combination but as a right back he can be got at and leaves a lot of space. There are some games, like yesterday, where you have moments where your under pressure/exposed/struggling to get out (and this can be against any team of any quality) and for that reason I'd rather Azpilicueta over Walker every day of the week. Benjamin Pavard really looked the business at right back for France in the summer as well, a competitor defensively, tactically aware and can deliver in forward areas too although playing as a CB for Stuttgart, where hes been consistent for a long time and when they came back up didnt look out of his depth at all. Hes another guy I would rather over Walker and see a big future for him on the right side. Also while I've mentioned Stuttgart, there is a big future for Argentine Santiago Ascacibar if he can become a bit more disciplined in his role.

He has had a lot of critics in the last few weeks, myself included as I've been critical of him (critical throughout his full spell at Chelsea), well his performance yesterday was brilliant from a defensive point of view I felt. That pass for Pedro and the goal was a bonus for a excellent second half performance after a bad first half from the team and in particular the defence. He just needs that consistency and to focus, he has got to deliver a defensive performance like that in all the games, some of the smaller teams will only have 2 or 3 big offensive plays per game fair enough but he needs to be more focused even if we have 70% of the ball.

Sterling should be praised to the heavens for that post 100%. Hes hit the nail on the head regarding the media. Love him or hate him, England's best and argubaly biggest player standing up and voicing his concern regarding a huge issue such as bias against black footballers in the press is exactly whats needed. It is disgraceful that another Chelsea fan has been involved in a racist incident as well, it paints the club in a bad image although the clubs not the most important thing here, the fact is that it is wrong for any sportsman/sportswoman to be abused because their skin colour is different than somebody elses and this has to change. I hope that the club and the police do the right thing. Also regarding the media I think its a joke the way theyve scrutinized Sterling since he broke onto the scene with Liverpool. The guys just a regular bloke, fair enough because of his profession, where the moneys crazy gets paid millions per year, they tend to forget that hes just a person. English press should be positive with a guy like Sterling, he is great (Id say most inform player in the PL at current and undoubtly Englands best player) and is potentiality a player that could be decisive for the future of the England football national team. Do you think Argentinian, Portuguese, Belgian or Brazilian media scrutinize their crown jewels (Messi, Ronaldo, Hazard or Neymar) on a regular basis over nothing? Absolutely not. There is 100% a race issue with various sectors of the media in England. Sterling can be the equivilent of those players for England, maybe not that exact level but he could be that iconic player for this current generation of English players.

Because its typical for some Chelsea fans to tear their own down at any chance because these players aren't flashy players or the next up and coming star, although Azpi is arguably the best 1v1 defender in the PL and has been for sometime. Particularly the full backs these last few seasons. Fair enough they can improve but everyone can. I am glad we have Azpi and not somebody like Walker or Trippier because the two of they would of got decimated in our team yesterday 😂 Azpi's defensive consistency is severely underrated and underappreciated too, yesterday showed that as a full back being able to defend is just as vital as anything else. He can be decisive in attack too, it is stupid to presume otherwise, he has shown this throughout his Chelsea career. Even more so the last 2 or 3 seasons.

No praise for him yesterday then? Showed exactly what he can offer in that role in the second half, excellent second half performance. If he plays like this more often in the same role it will be justified moving him in my eyes. This is what Sarri wants from him, he was the right distance away with the ball and without the ball.

30m euros minimum? If they offer him at that price take it. Even anything up to 45-50m euros I think with his age, ability and potential growth, would be a good move to make. Also people on about lack of goals from him thats never what his games been about so stop expecting him to put out Lampard-esque stats 😂 He's a guy who's tidy with the ball, could be more progressive and his technical attributes are more than good enough to do that, hes also good at dribbling which in CM is very useful. Defensively/tactically he has a bit to go but I think there has been a slight improvement since arriving.

First half poor but second half excellent. Defence needed to improve and they did second half, fair play to them all (Azpi was colossal throughout defensively). Be someone somewhere still outraged despite Kante scoring a pivotal goal that Sarri didnt play him as a DM..... 😂 or that we were poor first half, games done, result better than the 90 min performance. 3 points against the best team in the league Is exactly what Sarri needed.

100% Not sure how that interview came about but not surprised anymore. Won't be last time either he mentions another team this season either lol

Agree regarding the manager but let's no kid ourselves regarding Luiz. It's no coincidence that Luiz plays every week and our defence ends up being poorer than usual. Alonso's lack of mobility hurts us too. Luiz has had one good season in a heavily protected system and the rest of the best here has been as a CM under Rafa and Jose...

Actually it started in January. My bad with the monrh but the Arsenal game, that's where it started.

Alonso, Hazard, Morata, Luiz, Kovacic, Giroud have all played poorly/been far too inconsistent too over the basis of a lot of games recently after the first 8 games or so, not just Willian. Been a common theme we play well for 25 or 30 minutes then fall off and end up playing poorly recently. Sarri's philosophy is still a process that needs time and obviously some new additions but its regressing more than progressing at the moment and some of our games are mindnuming to watch at times because everything's too slow, congested, narrow and predictable. That might sound ungrateful or like a spoiled kid in a way but its true. I feel like that there is this arrogance or lazyness perhaps that because we have 70% possession these players think that games will just win themselves and that they can half arse it. This is around the time our season started to fall apart last season (well you could argue the transfer window fucked us) but I don't think the fallout will be half as bad as it was under Conte due to the fact Sarri isn't as abrasive a personality as Conte but that is also an issue because I think some of these guys need a big kick up the arse.

Eden is not being stifled because of Alonso, that is a lame excuse, if a left back can see those runs and make them then why can't a world class player like Eden do it? Its not rocket science to run in between the full back and center back or between the centre backs in more central areas is it? Eden like Willian too, comes to the ball far too much, particularly in deeper areas of the pitch (an issue Sarri has mentioned he should be wanting to get much more involved in the final third) he should be looking to get beyond and finish off moves, this has always been why people will question whether or not he will score more than 20 or 30 goals a season. Pedro is a great example I think, somebody who is not as gifted technically but will always bundle goals in somehow because hes selfless and will run off the back of teams even if he doesn't get it 99 out of 100 times because he knows eventually he will get it. Fair enough hes not going to score 30 goals a season but he will get 10+ this season in the PL, which for a player who isn't exactly at the level he was years ago or particularly blessed with anything that sticks out like Eden is with regards to dribbling, key passes etc is impressive. A lack of width is stifling the team more than anything, its like under Di Matteo were we are continuously looking to play through the centre as if its the only option and it cannot be done every match 38 times a season, teams defend and congest the middle of the pitch more than anything these days.... Conte's 343 system should have taught us the value of width, even if its having Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso providing it, they were always so wide it stretches teams and created spaces for the likes of Eden, Pedro, Willian infield. There are other variables but Alonso is not a direct fault for Eden, they get in each others way at times though and I've always felt theres too much instance from Eden and Willian particularly to come inside at times to pass to each other when there are better/other options. Even Sarri's Napoli, like Peps Bayern and City team, had the full backs play more centrally, to create overloads and combination plays. The key is having good variation. Which we don't have, although this Alonso plays almost as a 10 or striker talk is bullshit, on average he is the widest player in the team in terms of position.

Perhaps but he never fit United traditionally as a player, same with Kagawa in a way. They played with out and out wingers and where as now they still have wingers but who are more inside forwards and are very narrow at times. Regardless, he needs to be in a more offensive team with midfield runners, that's when he's at his best, when he can come into that half spaces and find people running in behind. That's why I think if he was here with Pedro and Costa he'd of been a huge plus for us playing as a 10 because those 2 love to run in behind teams (although Mourinho preferred Oscar to Mata because he would hunt the ball down, sigh). Costa's movement especially would of been fantastic for Juan but we all know how it went. I would imagine Conte could of found use for him too in that wide 10 roles we used in a 343 too. Even when he signed for United he was arguably better than any other attacking MF players they had but they shunted him on the right and his lack of pace affected his performances (traditionally youd expect a Ronaldo, Nani, Giggs, somebody who had real pace and energy in those positions) and Moyes tried to keep United playing in that style with wingers and crosses into the box that Ferguson's teams had become renowned for and been very successful with. Hence why he also signed Fellaini, a strong aeriel player who would be a handful in the box. Again I'm not fully convinced Moyes wanted Mata 100% like he did Fellaini but United were desperate after their summer failings too... it worked our alright for us though, he's not a bad player but unless playing as a 10 (where Rooney played mostly) he wasn't exactly a United player in that sense. Although he had some good games under van Gaal as a right winger or a false right winger as van Gaal called it 😂 There have been times where I've seen us play though and thought we could do with him for that final pass because Willian and Pedro can be very poor with that and force it. If Mata was around the box he'd conjure up something. Also for a more creative player he would chip in with 10 plus goals a season on top of the chances he created/assisted, he has managed it 5 times in his career in England. He has been unfortunate with his international career as well because Spain have got so many talented players across the board in those positions too. Same can be said for a lot of Spaniards though.

Well based on some United fans and the looks of this forum it would seem he is being looked back upon as good as opposed to being our best player at the time when he was here. He always delivered something in matches. Even after Eden and Oscar arrived, always did. Mourinho was the beginning of the end for him though.

For a player who seems to split opinions now he was crucial for us when he played here. Always came up with something in big games too, although he won't get the credit for that as perhaps others would. Think we are sometimes blinded by the fact we have Eden but reckon the team wouod of been better if both Eden and Juan played with each other for more seasons. Also imagine Mata playing with Costa, Pedro and Fabregas? What could have been. Espeically Pedro and Costa, his ability to find players in behind teams was brilliant. Selling him worked out okay though after initial outrage, same with KDB, both weren't exactly improving or showing why they should have stayed, especially KDB who was demoted tontrain with u21s after playing absolutely pish against a league 1 side. Maybe now he's flourished but.

Totally agree, severely underrated. That was his 5th PL goal this season from 12 games (7 starts 5 sub appearances). Pretty good return. Has an assist one well but hes more a scorer than a creator. Keeps going at this rate and he'll get 10 plus easily. Just depends if he comes on from the bench or starts, sure he can improve but we need goals in those attacking areas, particularly Eden (has 8 goals already but hasn't scored in how long?), Willian (always lacked goals bar 2 seasons he got 10 or around there) and the strikers bevause it will pick us up points even if we play badly.

Is this a joke lol?

Jorginho has been man marked before, just has managed to keep influencing matches. Spurs didn't do anything new. It happened to him in Italy and the CL all the time too. Teams have tried to in the PL as well. For me the other MF players have also got to step up and there has to be some sort of interchange with those 3 if Jorginho is marked to get the ball out and to get him in the game but if nobodies helping then he's going to keep doing it (sure every player can improve under pressure also) even if it means getting caught out or giving it away bevause that's his role and that's vital to the team. Kante and Kovacic maybe not the best blessed MF players at doing what Jorginho does but they can do better in that regard, Kovacic especially, who has the right skill set to do something on the ball from deeper positions, even just showing for the ball a bit more. I mean even under Jose, Oscar playing as a 10 would drop in and Cesc would move higher to get the ball. 433 has to be flexible, all 3 MF guys have to be comfortable taking the ball, we can't be a team that relies on Jorginho too much in MF for getting out so to speak because if teams mark him out successfully we'll lose a lot of balls, there has to be alternatives to the man on the ball (Cesc coming in and playing on that left side maybe worth a shot, given how he is able to play passes through the lines and very aware of his team mates positions), even Luiz and Rudiger can get us out too through the lines but there's risks involved every time they get that because if they are cut out in our half it's 3 or 4 players count attacking against 3 or 4 players most of the time with lots of space. The pressing is huge issue still as well, didn't watch all the game today but against Spurs it was disjointed. It was better today but the result meant more than the performance. Still lots to improve. Still needs time does Sarri, Rome wasn't built in a day, but I feel as if he's trying to not completely remake a team like Napoli, because we aren't Napoli, he's trying to make the team similar but not identical.

He had a difficult game. So did Hazard. They didn't help each other out which is a massive problem, both want to come to the box, it just crowds the area. I think there will need to be rotations in the next 4 or 5 games in key areas to prevent burning out players. Alonso has played non stop every week for 3 seasons now here, he needs rotation (said this last season) so does Azpi (again mentioned it seasons ago) because you can see with Sarri's demands of high full backs, overlapping, being really advanced and the regularity that these guys have had playing almost every minute for the last 3, 4 or 5 seasons, it's catching up with them, both are obviously fit enough to play the roles naturally but it must be physically exhausting playing every match every season. Also guys like Kante and Jorginho might end up having to be rested in upcoming games to try keep them fresh. Pedro, Willian and Hazard again played a lot of games this season too maybe time to use Callum a bit more regularly to rest these guys around 60/70 mins in (although if taking Sarri ends up taking Eden off and gets anything like Conte got on here from certain members fuck knows how long he'll be liked 😂). The rotation between Giroud and Morata has been decent enough, they've managed to play each other out of the team, playing a few games then getting changed, although through lack of goals or poor performances than a need for rest....

Will be Reals top transfer target if this is true. No surprise reports in Spain saying he'll leave. Let's be honest I doubt we'd get him.

Good to see he got a goal, a assist and from all I've heard was a good performance all round. Food for thought for Sarri but still think it will go back to the usual team v Fulham.

But the way of playing is the same, 433, 4141, 352, 4231, the way of playing doesn't change, there's no compromise in his principles (since Barcelona he has been stubborn with this possession based philosophy, insistent that his teams will play any other way). Same with Jurgen Klopp who's teams have always played a high intensity high pressure football where they press and are so fast in transitions (originates from his time at Mainz). The formation doesnt mean anything in particular because its the style thats important. They don't change their philosophy because they believe that is the right way for their teams to play.

Not going to lie, posts like this are slightly embarrassing. People wanted a change in style from Conte. We got one with Sarri. It's not perfect but if he wants to build a team in his image he needs to do it, no point half arsing it. Did Pep have a plan B? Did Klopp? No they play there way and that's it. Conte had a plan B, lump it long to Giroud/Morata but apparently that was outdated and we should be playing attacking football, now we have a manager who's trying to do that and now he's not flexible enough.. some of you guys never cease to amaze me. It's a process. Takes time. Few players need replaced. Give the guy a chance. Swear some folk just cause a stir because they've fuck all else to do.