BlueLion.

True, yet "Just Bournemouth" dicked us 4-0 three days beforehand, so let's enjoy our biggest win of the season, if that's allowed?

Yesterday was his best game in a long, long while. There looked to be a lot of frustration and anger in his play, it made him quite aggressive on the ball. Far more attacking passes, much like what we saw earlier in the season. He can still be a good option for us.

Noticed that before the game. Think it was a fitness issue.

I actually think he'd be a smashing fit for this system...

I actually think the deflection made it easier for the keeper to try and save. The initial shot was bending right into the top corner, the slight touch from the defender brought it closer to the reach of the keeper. Deflection or not, that shot was always destined for the net! The great thing about Higuain was his confidence. He scored two, had one very well blocked before he scored, then he hit the side netting a few minutes after he'd scored (from Alonso's one good piece of play yesterday). But they weren't shots out of frustration, they were intelligent efforts. He's going to be good for us.

Give Sarri credit: he's developing Kante as a player. I'd go as far as saying that yesterday was the best I've ever seen Kante play in an offensive capacity.

There's no doubting Higuain helped raise everybody's performances yesterday, but even Morata could have gotten on the scoresheet yesterday. Yes, he and Hazard put in very good performances, but let's not get overly excited just yet.

Agreed! I went to the game yesterday, and, having realised I've been giving Alonso a harsh time recently, I kept an eye on him throughout the game. He contributes nothing. Defensively, his only real contributing factor is his height, which sometimes bails him out when he's caught ball-watching. Offensively, he is slow and negative, and simply cannot cross. I do not know what he offers the team at this time.

Having been to 7-8 Derby games this season, I can definitely say this boy isn't Chelsea starting material. Not yet. A PL loan is an absolute necessity.

Anybody else not really arsed? I think this is a self-entitled 18 year old thinking he's bigger than the club, personally. I am in no way being deprecating of his abilities, merely of his attitude. It stinks. Let him go.

Swap him for Willian, Morata and Alonso?

Potentially silly question, but is this completed, or attempted, through-balls?

This bloke is an utter tank. Build the defence around him and Kepa!

To be fair, the bloke looks fucking knackered. A rest surely wouldn't hurt him.

Me too. Callum is immensely talented, but it seems like he is believing his own hype and is looking at the likes of Sancho at Dortmund and thinking he should be getting more opportunities. If I'm honest, I would like to see him work for his opportunities here, if he is the big Chelsea fan that he says he is. Is there a sense of self-entitlement here, perhaps?

My concern is whether his head has been turned by Madrid, and I honestly think him being played as a false 9 is further disillusioning him! He's actually done nothing for us, bar yesterday's assist, since the Watford game.

Agreed. In the "top half" of his goal, he is the best shot-stopper on the planet, in my opinion. In the "bottom half", he is a big-nosed Hilario impersonator.

With Marcos fucking Alonso playing in front of him, the bloke is a goalkeeping genius

I'd much rather just sacrifice Morata to the gods, keep Giroud, bring back Michy and/or sign someone like Callum Wilson than sign this old fart.

He was brilliant yesterday, which is why I see this thread is so quiet. At least three excellent defensive blocks/clearances, an assist (technically) for the penalty, and a dominant, box-to-box showing. Let's not forget he is still in his first season here. He will never be a world class midfielder, but he is very, very good and compliments our other midfielders nicely.

My old man nailed it yesterday - Callum is just too "safe" when he plays. He's scared of taking risks. I totally understand that - he doesn't want to fuck up - but he is playing in a position that, especially in our system, demands he beats a player 1v1. Did he attempt even a single take-on yesterday? Every single action was a Jorginho-esque sideways pass.

I can see him going back to the Villa, they could do with a washed up, ex-England international now the old one has gone

Super performance from him yesterday, I wish he could show the consistency to play like that more frequently. For me, it isn't about him scoring every game to make him a quality player - it is about consistency across 90 minutes. He was awesome from start to finish yesterday; comfortably his best performance of the season as far as I'm concerned. I do hope Sarri is just playing him as a forward to make a point to the board... "Hey look, my strikers are shit so I'll play Hazard here unless you get me another striker in January". I don't see his long-term future as a CF, however he CAN do a job there away against teams that aren't scared of actually coming out to play football. Against teams that park the bus, it's a total waste of Hazard, IMO. Either way, well played and well done on 100 (well, 101!) goals, Eden. I like to be proved wrong, but to properly convince me he needs to do it in the next game, and the game after that, and so on. Not every game, because I accept he's human, but if he is truly world class then we should be seeing performances of that ilk on a more frequent basis, in my view!!

Let's be honest, though... this chart makes Willian look like one of the best players in world football.

I can't see him "fitting in" at Real - realistically, who will he end up replacing? Isco? He's a player that they could indulge in, but would he seriously improve them when it's the goals of Ronaldo that they're missing? I could see him having less responsibility defensively within their system, though I'm not sure if he'd have the impact that many people think he would. Goals are a part of his repertoire, but he isn't a striker - as our recent games have shown.