BlueLion.

That being said for all of Cahill's shortcomings he was made to look like Maldini by JT tonight, who is not physically capable of playing so many matches. We seriously need to invest in two central defenders in the summer. Our GKs - world class. Our offence - world class. Our midfield - world class to such an extent it's one of the best midfield units in world football. Our defence - average.

Should have started ahead of Cesc, especially with the form he's in. José paid too much respect to Liverpool tonight. Ramires and Oscar, two work-horses with bundles of energy on the counter and equal energy in pressing high up the pitch, would have stifled so many of their attacks. Fabregas was anonymous.

Our best outfielder by a mile. As Ivanovic constantly went AWOL, he was doing a brilliant job for us at the back.

He's being overplayed, simple as. No need for him to play tonight. Ramires' energy on the counter-attack and as part of a high-pressure system would have been more suited. Mikel bossed a midfield in a UCL final, he can do the job well enough. Having the two of them in there was mental, they almost got in each other's way. It's called a double pivot for a reason; one player sits, one player marauds. Doesn't work when both sit. It causes mayhem defensively as neither shows any sense of being proactive in closing people down. Invites so much pressure onto the defence.

I thought by us playing a deeper defensive line, with two defensive midfielders, that he'd cope tonight. Did he fuck. Zouma please.

A - José's negative tactics almost, almost cost us. They were there for the taking; their best performance of the season and they still couldn't beat us. He owes Courtois a fucking blow job for bailing him out tonight. B - besides Willian (who basically did Ivanovic's job for him tonight), Hazard (in the first-half he was great, poor after the break) and Thibaut, the whole team was poor. You'd have thought we'd lost 5-0, not won 5-0, on Saturday. C - what the fuck was the point of the 90th minute substitutions?! He must be planning on changing the whole fucking squad for Bradford now. Courtois, Ivanovic, Terry, Willian, Hazard, Costa, Fabregas, Matic all out - Cech, Azpi, Zouma, Schurrle, Salah, Remy, Ramires, Oscar in, you'd think. d - Cahill had a very good first half but was back to his usual tricks in the second. Consistently poor, week in week out.

Outstanding performance tonight. He should be making the save from Gerrard, the double-save from Henderson/Sterling, the shot from Coutinho. But he had no right to stop that Lallana shot. That was unreal.

A Thibaut Courtois masterclass was required to rescue a lackadaisical Chelsea performance in the first leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final tussle with Liverpool. The Belgian international made a string of excellent second-half saves, most noticeably a magnificent one-handed parry from Adam Lallana's swerving drive, to ensure Chelsea left Anfield with a share of the spoils. The Blues had gone ahead somewhat against the run of play when Eden Hazard was unceremoniously bundled to the ground inside the Liverpool penalty area - Chelsea's number ten dusted himself down before dispatching the ball into the corner from twelve yards. But Liverpool responded positively with an excellent second-half showing, and got the goal their resurgence after the interval warranted when they equalised through Raheem Sterling's effort on the hour mark. From that point onwards it was one-way traffic, with Chelsea unable to cope with the fervent onslaught of their hosts, who, in playing their fifteenth League Cup semi-final, were demonstrating their tremendous pedigree in this competition with an all-guns-blazing offensive display. Nemanja Matic and John Mikel Obi, both usually so dependable in their defensive midfield duties, were time and time again overrun by the sheer energy of Brandan Rodger's side as Liverpool looked to maintain their run of having never lost the home leg of a semi-final in this competition. Courtois was called into action on a number of occasions in a game representing something of a baptism of fire, as the Belgian was immediately thrown back into the first team fold following his recent thumb injury. Chelsea had obviously come to Anfield to avoid defeat, but if it were not for the intervention of their number one, José Mourinho's plans may well have backfired. The Portuguese made just two changes to the side that thrashed Swansea on Saturday, but there could not have been any greater degree of antithesis between those two respective team performances. At the Liberty Stadium Chelsea were magnificent, resemblant of Pep Guardiola's Barcelona in the way they majestically caressed the ball about in an almost carefree and effortless manner. The 5-0 scoreline did not do their performance justice. Yet tonight, Liverpool, in putting in their best performance of the season, outplayed Mourinho's side for large periods of the second half and will feel disappointed not to have amassed a first leg lead. It is a somewhat damning statement that against a Chelsea side well, well off their best, that Rodgers' side - playing with a degree of intensity they have seldom attained this campaign - failed to score more than their one goal. One wonders if that was their chance to win the tie ahead of next week's return leg at Stamford Bridge. The opportunity, though, was there for Mourinho's men. Liverpool, for all their endeavour, simply could not gain the advantage they sought after, despite their best attempts. On the odd occasion Chelsea forayed forward, conversely, there was the imminent threat of the proverbial sucker punch. If caution had have been thrown to the wind Mourinho may well have left Anfield with an advantage, but if Chelsea can get the job done at Stamford Bridge then there will be no complaints. At times simply sloppy in possession, at others guilty of overplaying when a shot from distance might have been a more appropriate decision, this was a truly frustrating Chelsea performance, where, Hazard's penalty aside, only one wild half-volley from left-back Filipe Luis represented the entirety of their attacking exploits. Emre Can's wild swing at Hazard inside the box in the 17th minute gave the Blues the perfect platform to kill the tie off against what is, all being told, an average Liverpool side. Hazard successfully beat his compatriot, Simon Mignolet, and from that point it looked as if the Blues were in complete control, at least until half time. The whole of the first half had seen Courtois make only one save of note as he parried over a dipping drive from Reds skipper Steven Gerrard, but he was called into more wholehearted action after the interval. He was powerless to prevent Sterling's equaliser as the England man turned inside Matic and, with Gary Cahill and John Terry both backing off and seemingly allergic to making a tackle on the edge of the penalty area, he was granted enough room to scuff the ball into the bottom corner. The hosts came close to scoring a second in two minutes as first Gerrard kissed the outside of the post with a stabbed effort, before Courtois did well to beat away a powerful drive from Philippe Coutinho, who was growing in prominence as the match wore on. The Belgian then made a fine double save, first pushing away Jordan Henderson's skidding effort before getting up to grasp Sterling's follow-up with two hands. The initial save, in directing the ball away from the six yard box, had given Courtois the time needed to re-set himself, making the second save easier than it might have been. But he had to be at his absolute best when, diving backwards, he was able to divert wide a drive from substitute Lallana that was swerving away from his outstretched hand with every inch the ball travelled. A truly stunning piece of athleticism. Despite vehement protest from the Kop, Courtois was - rightfully - adjudged to released the ball before his momentum on the slide saw him leave the comforts of his penalty area, whilst at the other end, Mohamadou Sakho was extremely lucky that his trip on Diego Costa - a peripheral figure throughout - was not noticed by referee Martin Atkinson. The final whistle was welcomed by a muffled sound of disappointment from the home fans, who may well feel their opportunity to win this tie has gone - but on tonight's evidence, a similarly lacklustre display at Stamford Bridge could allow Rodgers' side to upset the odds and progress.

Nervous as hell about this, but also massively excited.

I could. I could indeed........

You lost me when you inferred de Gea was a better goalkeeper.

He has never been a technically adept striker, so I don't see why people are surprised. When people used to call him "the next Drogba" it used to piss me off, as Didier is one of the best strikers on a technical level I've ever seen. Lukaku is all about pace and power but Everton are not a team that can support his skills, frankly he is at the wrong club.

I can't see him staying beyond the summer, and why should he? He would be number one at every other club in world football except for Bayern Munich.

Petr Cech is set for further heartache as José Mourinho looks set to recall Thibaut Courtois to the starting line-up against Liverpool. Cech, the greatest goalkeeper in Chelsea's illustrious history with 226 clean sheets for the club, is just eleven appearances short of 500 games for the Blues and has been in spectacular form this season. But having been the Blues' undisputed number one for more than a decade, the Czech international has found first team football harder to come by considering the form of Courtois. Despite starting the campaign as back-up to Courtois, who spent three successful years on loan with Atletico de Madrid, the Czech international has conceded just five goals in well over 1,000 minutes this season, at a mammoth rate of one goal conceded every 202.4 minutes. Having kept six clean sheets in his eleven appearances this season Cech is showing no signs of a decline, and has kept three successive shut-outs as the Blues have bounced back brilliantly from derby disappointment against Tottenham on New Year's Day. But Courtois, who was promised when he rejoined Chelsea in the summer after a three-year spell on loan at Atletico Madrid that he would play in the all the big games this season, looks set to earn a recall after a three-game absence. The Belgian international broke a finger in that defeat at Spurs, and considering the quality on the bench in Cech, his injury was not risked and has been allowed to fully heal. But that is of no consequence to Cech, who has been the Blues' designated stopper in the Champions League and domestic cup competitions so far this season. The Chelsea manager maintains he is blessed with two of the world’s best goalkeepers, allowing him to rest Courtois until he had completely recovered from the fracture. “I have the two best in the league,” said Mourinho in the build-up to Saturday’s game at Swansea. “Yes, Courtois is fit but not 100%, but how many players are during the season? There is always pain here and there, a swollen ankle or something like that. Lots of keepers have strapping". Chelsea assistant manager Steve Holland recently went on record as saying that resting Courtois to allow his injury to heal was not a difficult decision. "If it had been vital to play he [Courtois] could but when we had Petr Cech as a replacement it was a no-brainer". But with that injury now seemingly no longer debilitating Courtois' performances in training, the Belgian looks set to replace Cech in goal for Tuesday's Capital One Cup semi-final first leg at Anfield. Courtois has already featured against Liverpool this season in the Blues' 2-1 victory at Anfield in October, and is touted to make his return to the side at the same venue. Cech, meanwhile, is likely to feature in Saturday's FA Cup fourth round tie at Stamford Bridge against Bradford. The Czech goalkeeper needs just five clean sheets to overtake David James' record of 170 shut-outs in the competition, though time is running out with a summer move looking increasingly likely.

Petr Cech is set for further heartache as José Mourinho looks set to recall Thibaut Courtois to the starting line-up against Liverpool. Cech, the greatest goalkeeper in Chelsea's illustrious history with 226 clean sheets for the club, is just eleven appearances short of 500 games for the Blues and has been in spectacular form this season. But having been the Blues' undisputed number one for more than a decade, the Czech international has found first team football harder to come by considering the form of Courtois. Despite starting the campaign as back-up to Courtois, who spent three successful years on loan with Atletico de Madrid, the Czech international has conceded just five goals in well over 1,000 minutes this season, at a mammoth rate of one goal conceded every 202.4 minutes. Having kept six clean sheets in his eleven appearances this season Cech is showing no signs of a decline, and has kept three successive shut-outs as the Blues have bounced back brilliantly from derby disappointment against Tottenham on New Year's Day. But Courtois, who was promised when he rejoined Chelsea in the summer after a three-year spell on loan at Atletico Madrid that he would play in the all the big games this season, looks set to earn a recall after a three-game absence. The Belgian international broke a finger in that defeat at Spurs, and considering the quality on the bench in Cech, his injury was not risked and has been allowed to fully heal. But that is of no consequence to Cech, who has been the Blues' designated stopper in the Champions League and domestic cup competitions so far this season. The Chelsea manager maintains he is blessed with two of the world’s best goalkeepers, allowing him to rest Courtois until he had completely recovered from the fracture. “I have the two best in the league,” said Mourinho in the build-up to Saturday’s game at Swansea. “Yes, Courtois is fit but not 100%, but how many players are during the season? There is always pain here and there, a swollen ankle or something like that. Lots of keepers have strapping". Chelsea assistant manager Steve Holland recently went on record as saying that resting Courtois to allow his injury to heal was not a difficult decision. "If it had been vital to play he [Courtois] could but when we had Petr Cech as a replacement it was a no-brainer". But with that injury now seemingly no longer debilitating Courtois' performances in training, the Belgian looks set to replace Cech in goal for Tuesday's Capital One Cup semi-final first leg at Anfield. Courtois has already featured against Liverpool this season in the Blues' 2-1 victory at Anfield in October, and is touted to make his return to the side at the same venue. Cech, meanwhile, is likely to feature in Saturday's FA Cup fourth round tie at Stamford Bridge against Bradford. The Czech goalkeeper needs just five clean sheets to overtake David James' record of 170 shut-outs in the competition, though time is running out with a summer move looking increasingly likely.

Pretty good looking productivity from where I'm sat!

This!

Do what I did with my Mata shirt and iron off the letters

Ask before advertising. And this discussion has already taken place in the player's thread. Locked.

Whenever you sign into the site, delete, don't just "mark as read" all your notifications.

After clearing out both Silva and Aguero in training.

That isn't my point mate. My point is if there are a bout of injuries to our small squad, we'll be calling up youngsters onto the bench, and the first team won't get rests, even against the likes of the Watfords and Bradfords of this world.

Absolutely 100% agreed.

Dammit man he's doing his best to help us!

Can I just say, for the benefit of everyone saying Salah isn't good enough. In 2012, we fielded THIS bench against Manchester United in a 3-3 draw: Now tell me having players like Salah and Schurrle in the squad is a waste of time.