BlueLion.

Chelsea lost crucial ground in the title race as they slipped up against a superb Southampton side. The Blues fell behind when Sadio Mané lobbed Thibaut Courtois with a deft finish, but Eden Hazard's moment of brilliance just before half-time deservedly earned Chelsea parity heading into the break. But referee Anthony Taylor ridiculously decided to book Cesc Fabregas for what he deemed to be a dive, when the Spaniard was quite clearly tripped by young Saints full-back Matt Targett. Morgan Schneiderlin was later dismissed for two second half yellow cards, but Southampton managed to survive the Blues' late aerial bombardment to earn a point their excellent defensive display perhaps warranted. It is tough luck for Chelsea, who, in a week where Branislav Ivanovic was booked for simulation, they have again been vilified - this time incorrectly - by a terrible call from Taylor and his nearside assistant referee; both of whom would have had excellent views of the incident. It would have been harsh on young Targett, admittedly, but by the letter of the law Fabregas was illegally upended and a spot kick should have been the only reasonable outcome. In truth, Chelsea were not quite up to their own high standards set by a comprehensive defeat of West Ham on Friday, but whether it was a case of tiredness - or indeed complacency - creeping into their game, José Mourinho's men were some way from their best today. Ronald Koeman's Saints were well-drilled and took the lead inside the opening fifteen minutes, but from the moment Mané capitalised on slack defending by John Terry there was little more than one-way action in this game. Chelsea dominated for long spells, yet but for Hazard's eventual equaliser - beautifully crafted by a dinked Fabregas pass and wonderfully executed by the Belgian - the Blues failed to test Fraser Forster in the Southampton goal even once. In truth, Taylor's decision to book Fabregas for diving, however wrong it might be, is simply an excuse to be waved around by Chelsea fans following a sub-par showing. True, Chelsea had the lion's share of possession, but they did very little with it, and ultimately, despite Mourinho throwing on both Didier Drogba and Loic Remy as the Blues battled for a late winner against their handicapped opponents, it was in fact the home side that showed the greater incisiveness in offence on the rare occasion they forayed forwards. These were two precious points that slipped away from the Blues, but Mourinho may take some solace in the fact that Chelsea are the first side this season to prevent Southampton from winning a game having taken the lead - on the previous ten occasions that the Saints had opened the scoring, they had gone on to record victory. Yet that will be little consolation for the Portuguese, who, even with Manchester City letting slip a 2-0 lead to draw with Burnley at the Etihad Stadium, will now look down on the rest of the Premier League with a slender three-point advantage. 2014 ends sadly not how it began - the Blues won here 3-0 in January, with even Fernando Torres amongst the goals - but Chelsea will be encouraged to have emerged relatively unscathed from another testing away trip. They now enter the second half of the season having played all of Manchester United, City, Liverpool, Everton, Newcastle, and now Southampton - with Spurs to come on New Year's Day - away from home. A win at White Hart Lane is now an absolute must on Thursday considering City - again at home - will no doubt sweep aside a Sunderland team who were frankly pathetic against Hull on Boxing Day. Recording three points against Tottenham would, in truth, have made this a very merry Christmas indeed for Chelsea; with three games out of their four away from home, and the solitary fixture at Stamford Bridge against another top four side in West Ham, this has been one of the trickiest festive fixture lists for Chelsea in many a year - but regardless of who plays who, Mourinho will know his side need to up their game if they are to take three points and begin 2015 on a high. Click here to view the article

Haha, totally different ways of life then B, if that happened in England people would be creeped out!

Too slow old boy haha!

No guarantee on Diego's fitness, he wasn't as mobile as usual (not sure "mobile" is the right word to use...) on Boxing Day.

He's clearly quite a "touchy feely" sort of kid... is this "affection" normal in South America?!

Wouldn't be surprised to see him start today tbh. Save Diego for Thursday to unleash him on Spurs.

Let's throw a dog a bone and send him to Atletico so it makes Torres seem less shite?

What you are essentially saying is that people think Neuer is better because he's older, has won the World Cup, is insane and makes spectacular saves. The reason why people think Neuer is better is because he is the best goalkeeper in world football, both statistically and ability wise. There's no shame in being second-best to Neuer, who will be remembered along with Iker, Buffon, Kahn, Cech and van der Sar as one of the best of the modern era, and he'll be remembered in 50 years for helping to revolutionise the position of goalkeeper, in essence he has turned the goalkeeper into a fifth defender, a footballer. You say Courtois is disadvantaged because of his age - quite the contrary. He is behind Neuer at the minute, but his age means he has years left to grow and improve. I believe in a couple of years he'll surpass Neuer, like he arguably already has with Cech and Buffon. But right now, you just have to accept he is behind Neuer, the same way other Chelsea fans have finally accepted he's surpassed Cech, hence why he is starting rather than Petr. He's certainly in the top three worldwide. And far better than de Gea. de Gea looks fantastic because he makes fabulous camera saves. Admittedly he is a good goalkeeper, but he's made to look better by some shoddy shooting (think of the Liverpool 3-0 and the Arsenal 2-1, if those teams had Costaesque finishers he'd have shipped four or five goals in these games based on the number of chances). He's made some terrific saves and arguably is the sole reason United are third. But with the amount of saves he has to make because of how shockingly shit United's defence is, he is made to look awesome. Let's not forget de Gea is the guy who shipped four goals to Milton Keynes Dons. As far as Courtois vs de Gea is concerned, this is no contest. When it comes to Courtois-Neuer, we have to accept that Thibaut still has some catching up to do.

I think Filipe would be a good shout for this game. #Crosses Schurrle will definitely start.

Matic

I don't think anyone truly thinks his link up play is poor. He is a very good striker at linking on the edge of the box; people have just been spoilt by having Drogba as our target man for 8/9 years. I've never seen a better forward at linking the play than Drogba, and I'd say that even in his old age, Drogba, as the technically superior of the two, is still probably slightly better than Diego. Diego is good technically, but he's not the most fantastically gifted footballer; a fine striker nonetheless, thanks to his excellent movement off the ball. He brings a different style of target-man play to Drogba - and it is almost as effective as King Didier ever was in his prime. The difference is Diego is more of a poacher than a producer - he'll score more goals than Drogba, but Drogba will always set more up. In Costa we have a superstar on our hands who will easily score 120+ goals for us if he stays at Chelsea for the next 5/6 years.

Even when Torres scored for us, he was borderline useless. When Diego doesn't score he is like a cheerleader. He winds the fuck up out of the opposition, occupies their defenders, and his movement is so intelligent that he creates an obscene amount of space outside the penalty area for the likes of Fabregas and Hazard. The bloke is a magician.

Chelsea manager José Mourinho was full of praise for his side after they beat West Ham United this afternoon - but reserved special praise for skipper John Terry. Terry opened the scoring in the 31st minute for his second goal in as many matches, before Eden Hazard set up Diego Costa to net his 13th goal since joining from Atletico Madrid in the summer. The Special One commended his team for a terrific performance which saw them maintain their three-point lead at the top of the Premier League table. "The results are good, the players are happy", Mourinho began. "I’m happy as a coach, because the team is playing well. I’m happy as a guy because I love my players. It’s important to feel happy with the people that surround me, it’s something I missed for a while and with this group I have a group that I love". Mourinho also congratulated his players for the obvious improvement the side has made since last season, with the Blues drawing 0-0 in the corresponding fixture last term. "We are a much better team when we have the ball. Last year we were very strong defensively and very well organised but we lacked a bit of creativity when we had the ball. "There’s no perfection but we played very well against a difficult team," said the Portuguese. "We played well in two different versions; the first against a defensive side, and we were very good, we moved the ball, there was a good dynamic and lots of chances. "In the second half we played against an attacking team that made changes by putting on faster players and playing direct balls into space. We coped well and found ways to counter attack. It’s very important for a team to identify different moments of the game and to be able to adapt. Today was a good example of that, the players did very well". But Mourinho singled out Terry, who today netted his fourth goal of the season and moved to within three appearances of equalling Frank Lampard as the club's fourth-highest appearance maker. "He’s always had that, normally four or five goals a season. He’s full of confidence. I see my John of 2004, 2005 and 2006 here, I don’t see any difference. He’s playing so well but when the team is playing so well it’s easy for individuals". Terry, in typical fashion, was magnanimous in his praise of his team mates at the end of the game. "I think the first half we were in control. We played some great football again but that second goal from Diego was important for us. I am delighted. "We are playing well. Pressure is on the teams below now to win. We are playing great, everyone can see that and if we continue to do that it will be tough. That is the target for us, we have had a good start and if we continue our form it will be tough for anyone. It is important we remain calm and keep doing what we are doing". The Blues face Southampton in a Sunday lunchtime kick-off at St. Mary's.

And 61 in total for Chelsea...

Matic is the best player in the Premier League at the minute, no debate.

Deserved to be left alone in a dark room with Diego after that dive.

I got excited by my originality and then I saw The Mirror used it earlier on Twitter #cunts

Thread title deserves more likes tbh.

Merry fucking Christmas.

John Terry and Diego Costa scored as Chelsea maintained their Premier League title charge with a sumptuous performance against high-flying West Ham. The Blues maintained their lead at the top of the table with a terrific showing that highlighted both their defensive resilience and trademark dynamism and attacking flair. Thibaut Courtois becomes the first goalkeeper to prevent the Hammers from scoring on the road this season, and between the Belgian and fellow shot-stopper Petr Cech, the Blues have now managed six clean sheets in their last season league fixtures. It was at the other end of the pitch, however, that one of the game's starring performers stole a fair portion of the limelight, with Hammers keeper Adrian mirroring his superb showing from the 0-0 draw in last season's corresponding fixture. The former Real Betis man made a string of excellent saves to deny the vast Blue tide that threatened to sweep across the West Ham rearguard, but he was helpless to prevent Terry from scoring his second goal of the week on the half-hour. And when Costa jinked inside and then outside again, the Spanish international sat three of Adrian's defenders on their backsides before threading the ball into the far corner with an exquisite finish, for what is the striker's thirteenth goal in fourteen Premier League appearances since his big money move from Atletico Madrid in the summer. If Monday's 2-0 win at Stoke showcased Chelsea's physicality and ability to dig deep and grind out a win, then this case proved the antithesis of that showing. The Blues were absolutely magnificent in the first half, and their slender one-goal lead heading into the interview belied their superiority. Through Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas, José Mourinho's side were able to govern the midfield, allowing for Willian, Eden Hazard, Oscar and Costa to tear the Hammers apart with some gorgeous interplay. The first interchange between the Blues' front four almost paid immediate dividends when Oscar, clean through on goal, wasted a glorious early opening with his miscued his volley horribly over the crossbar. That chance had come about when Willian's cross missed its intended target - Costa - and caught Oscar almost by surprise, but there was no accident in the combination that brought about Chelsea's next glaring opportunity, though the pair that produced it might have raised eyebrows. Following a Fabregas corner, Terry teased in a cross to the back past that Gary Cahill did well to attack, but the England international failed to keep his header on target. Another corner, this time slightly more well worked, then allowed Cahill his second chance of the game. From Fabregas' intelligent pass, the former Bolton man put his foot through the ball. Whilst his shot from eight yards had all the necessary power to beat Adrian, it lacked the precision required and the Spanish goalkeeper stood tall to parry. Oscar then floated a free-kick wide before Fabregas was more successful in at least testing the goalkeeper, but his tame effort rarely looked like posing Adrian too much trouble. The next Chelsea opportunity certainly did produce the best of the Spaniard, as Willian, dribbling some forty yards before shooting, saw his drilled effort take a slight nick off of James Collins. That deflection made things awkward for the goalkeeper, who still managed to parry. Chelsea did finally manage to stick the ball home beyond the goalkeeper when Terry intelligently got on the end of Costa's flick-on. All stemming from another Fabregas corner, the Chelsea skipper poked home for the second consecutive game as the Blues opened the scoring through another set-piece, almost with delicious irony. Five minutes later Adrian made a stunning low save to deny Matic, who, given space on the edge of the box, had the time to pick his spot. At full stretch, the goalkeeper turned the Serb's dipping strike around the post. Chelsea deserved to be more than 1-0 up, and they would have one more chance before the interval to increase their lead, and but only for a better pass from Branislav Ivanovic would they have been able to do so - instead the Serbian's poor pass meant Costa could only shin over a half-volley with the goal at his mercy. Before the break, though, Ivanovic took a tumble in the penalty area after negligible contact by Andy Carroll - the striker's biggest contribution to this game. Replays showed the Serbia captain certainly exaggerated any touch there may have been, and he was lucky to avoid a yellow card for simulation. That seemed to fire up West Ham, who came out with renewed vigour after the break. The introductions of Alex Song and Diafra Sakho gave the Hammers more steel in the middle of the park, and Sam Allardyce's team were able to maintain a spell of possession for the first time in the game. But their good rebuilding work was undone when Cheikhou Kouyate was stripped of the ball with consumate ease by Matic, who fed Hazard. The Belgian, who minutes before had produced another save out of the goalkeeper, dribbled forward, and teed Costa who showed great composure to slot home. The Chelsea number 19 turned one way then the other, sat three West Ham players on the deck before firing with laser precision into the back of the net - Adrian, this time, helpless to prevent it. At the other end, Courtois, a virtual spectator, was given his first test of the afternoon when Sakho burst clean through straight from the restart, but the Belgian made a fine save when one-on-one to preserve his clean sheet. Meanwhile, Hammers goalkeeper Adrian continued his one-man act of defiance to pull off a special fingertip save from another Oscar effort. The Brazilian shot from fully 30 yards after Hazard was upended, but the goalkeeper was able to just get enough on the ball to divert it over the woodwork. Adrian then blocked an effort at Matic's feet before Winston Reid's brave tackle smothered a shot from Oscar that seemed destined for the roof of the net. Fabregas then saw a curling effort miss the target by a matter of inches. This was the resumption of Chelsea's first half dominance. But that superiority was cut short by three substitutions by Mourinho, whilst Allardyce made one final throw of the dice by introducing Morgan Amalfitano. After heading a half-chance a foot or so wide of the post, the ex-Marseilles man then hit the base of the post after turning Ivanovic inside-out. There were a number of late half-chances for Chelsea to improve their goal difference, with substitute Didier Drogba's long-range dipper the best of those opportunities, but in the end Chelsea saw out the game in relative comfort to maintain their three-point advantage at the top of the Premier League table. Click here to view the article

This picture needs re-posting.

They're signing him to play at left back I imagine.

This just won't ever in a trillion years happen. With the other topics, for most of them there is at least a minuscule chance we could sign the player. But Messi? It won't happen.