OneMoSalah

He had a few shots, was always willing to take people on, maybe he overdone it at times, maybe not but he always was more likely to do something than Eden was in the second half, where we were quite poor in comparison to the first half. Eden took the easy option almost every time. "Hazard really wasn't as bad as you're making him out to be?" He vanished again in the second half of the second big match we've played in the space of maybe a week... he 'wasn't that bad', ok mate, if he played like he did in the first half in the second half I could see why you'd say that but he didn't, he was anonymous. Its a bit of a recurring theme in some matches, when we play good hes outstanding but when it gets a bit tougher he can fold, fair enough everyone can at times but his ability seems to buy him a lot of slack, when we play badly so many other players get criticised but when anybody tries to say anything about Hazard its too far or stupid or its not his fault its the managers fault etc. I'm just as much of a fan of him as anybody but nobody is immune to criticism, nobody is far too good that when they don't play well that they don't deserve to be criticised. Christensen has made 2 or 3 mistakes in the space of 2 games, although hes had a very good season but still people have said (myself included) that they were his errors. People pointing out Hazard disappearing/playing poorly or calling him a back heel merchant and it becomes fucking DEFCON 1. In contrast saying Gary Cahill or Marcos Alonso had a decent game and its "what the fuck are you on about?" Tbf the way that second half was going, if we could of gotten 1-1, fair enough. First half we should of scored more, Morata was unlucky with that chance that hit the bar and also in second half he wasn't offside but this issue has been affecting the team for a while, we never kill teams off or get that crucial second goal, 1-0 up we concede the equaliser but we were much better than United in the first half. United probably went in at the break lucky that they were still in the match but then they came out a different proposition all together. Even in the past in big games, we could play shit and still win because big personalities like Drogba, Terry, Lampard, these leaders on the pitch knew how to help the team and to grind out poor periods of matches. I don't see anyone in our team in that mould. If we got the 1-1 after that second half it would be that's actually not that bad, lets be honest because we didn't follow up our first half performance. Mourinho used to do it for years when he was here in PL and Europe. Conte isn't spectacular with his subs I'll agree and was surprised with Drinkwater inclusion today but thought that generally over his time here he has got the bigger calls right, maybe not as often this season but generally in his time as a whole, we've done alright in that regard to when to close up a game or when not to. Its a weird one though, 75 mins in at Old Trafford, 1-1, you've been outplayed since HT, I'd of preferred to see Giroud come on maybe and go a bit more direct but again Pedro's a good option on the counter too.He could of done any and if the result was the same, forum would meltdown.

Drogba played shit almost the whole season in 2011-12 but when it came to the big crunch, games against Napoli, Barca, Bayern, where we needed to do something, he did something. He was the ultimate big game player who had that mentality, ok I only need one chance, remember watching the CL final, some point after he scored that header we got a freekick about 40 yards out, he was like fuck it I'm having this, fair enough he punted it about 10 feet over the bar but he came alive in big moments in games. We've not got enough guys like that and it is frightening because you could always associate Chelsea with having that, big game players, maybe we'd be playing poorly but you knew we always had a chance because Drogba would dig you out of a hole, or Lampard would, or Terry would etc. Not going to lie Matic was huge for them today, he was everywhere, we could of done with a bit of that to help Kante out.

Big question, 3 in MF or 3 up front?

Would be a big upgrade on what we've got, although right wing back is a nightmare to buy for though because even then hes not really an excellent player, Azpilicueta is probably just as good an option for RWB. Like in terms of commitment and an enthusiastic approach, you'll 100% get that from Florenzi but technically still hes not amazing surely his crosses cant be any worse than Moses though? I think we'll go back to a back 4 if Conte goes.

So frustrating to watch. First half he was okay but there was several moments where he took Young on, beat him but then fucking went back to try skin him again. Second half every cross was hit at 100mph straight into the first man. His defensive work is pretty decent for a former winger but in big games being decisive in the final third is crucial and hes struggled with that big time in his whole career.

Well people keep banging on about subbing Morata instead of Hazard so for Pedro to come on for them it would of meant a false 9? Although I agree Giroud should of come on earlier yes and Cesc also should have come on a lot earlier but regardless of who should have come on and who shouldn't have the way I'm looking at it is, Willian in the last 2 games today and against Barca has looked better and much more decisive than Hazard. He looked tired too but I think it was the right move to keep him on as he was more lively and I'd imagine the chances of him scoring/assisting second half were higher than Eden and fair enough he lost the ball a lot more but he was our best player again and to be fair to him in the last wee while has been in better form. Would you honestly have taken Willian off if it was Willian or Hazard for Pedro? Not a chance. If Pedro came on and had a positive impact nobody would say anything. Hazard's disappearing act in a huge match wouldn't be mentioned either. Lets face it Hazard was anonymous, shit, whatever other word you want to put in, in the second half. Maybe Conte settled for a draw maybe not with the sub, my problem is as well people keep bringing up stupid stats about dribbles and key passes like they are vital to who gets subbed or who shouldn't get subbed (I reckon 75% of those stats he picked up in the first half too), regardless of performance, the only thing vital in terms of statistics is the score in the top left of the television screen and we lost today because we conceded two shit goals, played an overall poor second half after being more than good enough first half, not because we subbed our best player who was under performing while it was 1-1. United came out second half and were quicker all over the pitch than we were. People complaining about one little substitute, when in all fairness like I've said its not like Hazard was playing excellently or warranting not to be substituted. Not even surprised anymore that it is more Hazard FC than Chelsea FC. Conte thread as well, just would like to say that the manager always trumps players.

Yeah totally agree. I think at times too, in the other games, he just looked as if he oozes confidence and maybe got a bit overconfident or complacent at times, sometimes with his decisions to pass instead of maybe just clear it, although 99/100 times he is spot on with his decisions and maybe its only come to conceding a throw in or a corner but like we seen vs Barca, eventually against a bigger side something will happen. He doesn't take as many risks as Luiz and is 10 times the defender in my eyes but hes still got a bit to learn, game management, communication (although I think hes been pretty impressive in that regard a lot for somebody so young in a back 3 with guys who have maybe 200-300 more career games than he does). For me hes been one of our stand out players and will be captain here one day (unless we fuck that up) but few moments like this at his age, with a manager like Conte, who will do what he did after the Barcelona game, back him up and talk him up, wont hurt his development at all. John Stones at Man City, another guy who struggled big time last year under Pep but was always actively encouraging him to do what he was doing, talked him up at every chance, looks 10 times the player he was the season before. Still think Christensen will be a better player than him too and perhaps already is but thats another debate for another day. Its a shame though, because like when you play in goals, when you make a mistake as a CB it more than likely causes a goal.

That is all well and good but games aren't won by how many passes you complete or how many dribbles you complete. Games are won by goals and he looked less likely to score or create a goal than Willian and there was no way with Morata on and Giroud on the bench, Conte was going to play a false 9 system at 1-1. If you think that he was going to then I don't even know... If he did that he would of gotten criticised even more. Genuinely don't see what the massive fuss was, its not as if Hazard was playing amazing before he got subbed? If he was okay yeah fair enough but he wasn't. I could get it if he was playing great, looking likely to score or whatever but he wasn't so honestly not sure what the fuss is. Most of them stats, the dribbles, key passes, whatever I bet most of them were accumulated in the first half.

Defo agree. Personally I think it was the right move to swap him out because Willian was playing better (and although Morata was poor playing with a false 9 would of been daft) but the way United came out second half made it a different proposition all together. This is my only concern with Hazard he can brilliant in periods for the 45 minutes then disappears after HT or whatever. No player can play excellently for 90 minutes 40-50 times a season but these sort of games (United, Barca, City whoever) he needs to be a bit more than good for one half. I was disappointed with him in the Barca game because he started good for maybe 15 minutes after we really got into it then was pretty much forgotten about. He is the main guy here and obviously a level above a lot of our players but that alone seems to buy him immunity from criticism. In hindsight if that was Pedro who started and disappeared after HT then people would not hesitate to say na get him off hes doing fuck all. I think even with Eden on we'd still have lost because we were slowly getting deeper and deeper, losing second balls and letting United come onto us.

Seriously unsure if he'll last if City pump us and we go out against Barca in a similar manner. If he gets us past Barca, okay he'll probably get more of a chance to try take us as far as he can go in the CL but starting to think if he doesn't leave at the end of the season, then maybe he gets sacked. We've lost v Bournemouth, Watford, United in space of like 5 weeks, throw in maybe getting beat by City and Barca... not sure what the big man up top will be contemplating.

Yeah 100% agree, pity because I hoped Pedro's willingness to run in behind and try stretch United would of helped us big time but it never came. Willian looked pretty knackered near the end but was always more likely to conjure something up out of any of our attackers. Cesc should have played from the start today I think, first half he would of had all the space in the world and then hes a different element all together, United and in particular Matic, Pogba and McTominay got really involved in the second half, started picking up a lot of second balls, getting in the faces of our MF. Bakayoko for Matic has to be the worst replacement we've done in years.

Onside for that goal but anonymous second half. First half was a tiny bit better (if he scored that goal maybe different story all together) but still should be doing more in terms of his overall performance. His confidence looks quite shot, which is a shame because he was good at the start of the season. I think he'll be okay next season, needs to eat a few big meals over the summer and gain a bit of weight though because for all his skills ie holding the ball, linking with others he gets knocked down far too often. Contrast between his performance against United at the Bridge and today was scary. Lukaku's issue has always been goals in big fixtures, apparently this was his first goal for United against a top 6 team and that I'm not surprised about one bit. Wasn't really a game for CFs today, Lukaku got going in bursts but again not really consistent throughout the match.

Yes he can but in all fairness, like vs Barcelona, the chances didn't look highly probable that he was going to.And yeah maybe Conte's maybe thinking 1-1, take a draw fuck it as well but we've been poor second half in comparison to the first. Two basic goals to concede. I didn't think Morata was as bad in the first half but hes been pish second half. Giroud, Pedro, Cesc all subbed on 10 mins too late.

True we've dropped off second half but in all fairness our attack needed rejuvenating. Willian was doing a lot more than Hazard for me, maybe stupid but seems logical for me in terms of how involved hes been. 2 CFs, Pedro and Cesc all on now, about time.

If he was heavily involved fair enough but hes been close to anonymous in the second half.

Why are people contesting why he took Hazard off? If we are going to play with an actual CF then there is no way Willian deserves to come off after how hes played so far today. Cesc should of came on at HT though. Drinkwater average beyond belief. Now we are fucked.

Watch Bayern sign him for like 25M euros or something crazy. They don't fuck about.

Didn't he fail to hold onto the ball prior to THAT attack? Fucking hell your joking right?

I've watched him fall over enough to form my conclusion. It's a typical Morata performance that could end up being part of the reason we don't beat this terrible Utd side. Part of the reason we could maybe not end up beating this United side is because we conceded due to one of our CBs being out of position, will that be Morata's fault too?

You've obviously not been watching the whole first half, he has been going out to the channels, holding it up at times (not as much as he could as hes been falling over but some have maybe been fouls some not) linking with Willian/Hazard. Its hardly that bad of a performance. If he scored it would of been a different story. United are playing deep without the ball as well so for all the few chances he will have had to run in behind, hes hardly been given much of a chance has he? Willian and Hazard have really only been the two players who have had chances to run in behind United and they came from their set plays or loosing possession high up the pitch on maybe 3 occasions. Giroud wouldn't have done much else except maybe held it in a few more times. To go over what I said ages ago in Morata's thread, he's struggled of late but start of the season nobody complained at all, now he useless and whatever, the change in opinion over him is quite pathetic really considering how well he started, he was always going to have a wee struggle eventually, fatigue, new league and whatever coming into play.

We all hoped he would turn up for a big game. Pathetic He’s hardly been that bad, goes down a bit easy but some could be fouls. Unsure why Drinkwater started though he’s been poor. Matic playing good for United.

Carlos Carvalhal gave a belter of a quote about stats, think it was mainly possession, last week or the week before. “Statistics are based on last year, two years ago or three years ago. But if you and I go to a picnic and we take one chicken and I eat it all, statistically you have eaten half a chicken! ” Alonso btw what a ball that was for Morata, absolute peach pity he hit the bar.

Na hopefully no Cahill. Defence was pretty solid against Barca, one poor mistake won't really affect Christensen I don't think, hes top class. Rudiger was also quite good that night, played some brilliant long diagonals to switch the play. Azpi is Azpi. No need to change that back 3 for this game. Can't see Conte being daft enough either to mix up his defence because in all reality its arguably the strongest part of our team. I would say that the GK, the defence and midfield picks itself based purely on the options we have available.

No chance Emerson starts ahead of Alonso after a pretty sound performance in the game v Barca. Only change will be Pedro for Giroud or Morata. Would be stupid to change anything else.

Cup matches v lower opposition (in which he was almost involved for almost 90% of the various games under Conte)? Poor performances. No point making a case for him because in 18 months you can count on one hand the amount of games he actually looked like a top 4 PL level player, 2 or 3. 32M pounds he cost. Ridiculous. If you look like a championship player vs Norwich then your going to look like a championship player vs a PL team.