Thor

Anyone trying to justify last nights tactics and performance... Just stop. There is no excuse for it, absolutely none. Think about it from a purely logical standpoint. They have 10 men, they need to score, they will be short up the back at times, you have more opportunity to score. How about the fact we have an extra man, and as much quality as they do on the pitch? Use that extra man. How about the fact if this was a home and away spread in a cup game, and we get such an advantage, even away from home, we'd continue to push the issue, capitalize on it, and score as many as we can to try and boost up the aggregate for the next game? I don't think anyone would be arguing if we scored that goal with 11 men on the field for City, and kept defending. Would have been fine with it. Maybe not so pleased with the tactics, but I could appreciate the thought behind it. The fact here is though, playing like that against 10 men? That is flat out bullcrap, incorrect tactics, and he should get absolutely slated for it considering we could have done a great job right now in making this thing near impossible for anyone else to win. 8 points ahead of the only team that will probably catch us at the end of the season, with one game against them out of the way? That would have been brilliant, but whatever. Continue to play negative against even 10 men... Clearly it worked...

Eh, whatever. Who cares who scored? Team played disgusting. The only thing better than the draw, would have been a loss after they scored, so Mourinho could get his head out of his ass and actually play football. Anyone saying they're happy with a point is lying to themselves. I don't care how you try and justify it, saying we would have been happy before the game with it, etc. Sure, but that was pitiful to watch. If they had 10 on the field, how many did we have? 8? Knowing Mou, he's probably happy with the result...

Wouldn't be shocked if we lose. Pitiful performance against 10 men. I'm actually disgusted.

Who is surprised? No one. That's what happens when you sit back and invite pressure. Embarrassing against a 10 man side. Pitiful.

Yet we have a whole forum on Willian's case despite him actually being involved in the game...

Some of you are being incredibly harsh on Willian. He is out there busting his ass, usually stranded and given little options, and people are complaining he is turning the ball over? Where the hell have Costa, Hazard and Cesc been? He can't do anything with it when he's being crowded and given no options. At least hes going out there and drawing some fouls, slowing the game down, and giving us a chance at some set plays.

I wouldn't mind the same starting 11 bar Drogba as the Schalke match. Luis really impressed me and looked better and more secure than Azpi up back. Was also more influential going forward IMO. People overreacted far too much to the Schalke game, considering we lost so much with Drogba out there, seeing as he is not at his best. People need to come down on the reactions after one game, particularly in one which we dominated, created 4 open net chances that happened to go wide, and had a striker that is injured and clearly our 3rd option out there. Drogba took away a lot of our movement that we are used to with Costa out there. I'm not sure if anyone else noticed but we played more long balls against Schalke than we have in all 4 other games combined this season, and yet we were still far better than them. Add to that, Schalke is not some average team, they are a good one. At the level of an Everton here in the EPL, and it's not like we would make headlines for drawing with them, like some are harping on about here with the draw. Not to mention, with not our strongest side... Does anyone actually think we lose that game with Remy or Costa starting? Exactly... I feel we come out of this match with less possession, but our team being far more clincal and useful in possession than Man City. Much like last season, although now we have better finishers and creators, and I also think we'll see more of the ball than last seasons fixtures, especially with Yaya going through a rough patch with them at the moment and not looking his best. I'm really confident we win, even if we go down. Even in the Schalke match, in the 90th minute, I thought for sure we would score. Been a long time since I've felt that way about this team. This team oozes confidence on the pitch, and it translates to us fans. We can feel it too.

Hope we don't get caught out like Liverpool and Atletico did. First game is always tricky. Have to be focused and ready to play. Cup play is very different to league. Saying that, I want Willian to get some run. This guy is a talent, and clearly good enough for our starting 11. Hope he is on the pitch come kick off. I think he'll be first choice eventually as we get into the season, but this is a perfect opportunity for him. Let him take a wing role and sit Schurrle or Oscar. In my opinion he's outplayed them whenever he has taken the pitch anyway. He provides pace, ability to beat his man, great touch, and he tracks back. Bizarre how he isn't first choice, since he is a typical Mourinho type player with all the attributes he likes.

He's been great this season. Costa and himself open up the game so much for everyone else with their ability to draw multiple defenders, particularly Hazard with his knack for being able to take on 2 or 3 defenders with a great run. As great as Fabregas has been, I'm sure he'll tell you that he loves playing with Eden since he makes his job that much easier. Being able to thread a lot of these passes through defenses when they are already scrambling and out of position must be heaven for him. It's a joy watching them.

He is great to have coming off the bench, but he isn't a player you have in your starting 11 on a regular basis in my opinion. We should use him the way Germany did; super sub. He's far too selfish and doesn't fit the mold in the build up play at times. Like someone said, he is great for countering and when we are running down the wings. If we want to break teams down, we are best off with him on the bench. I think most games have reflected that, and we have performed better when he was taking a seat. Still, he is a big time player, and like I said, when we are in need of a more counter attacking game, he is perfect and lethal for it.

I think this game proves Ramires belongs, and is a great player in his own right. It's crazy to think people were on his case, making it seem as if he is a detriment to our team, and a walking red card or something. The guy is an out and out hard worker, and 95% of the time, a net positive for us on the field. Sure, he has his faults, like all players do, but he is an absolute beast, and with our team based on physicality and speed, he fits right in. We look twice as good with him on the pitch over Schurlle. Another thing, Oscar, for as much flack as he gets on here, from me too, looked a lot better on the wing. Cesc as the man behind the striker is a lot better than Oscar. Ramires should play back there with Matic in my opinion and get one of Oscar and Willian on the wings. Oscar was very good in the 2nd half for me.

Can't wait until this guy Costa is healthy. He plays fantastic injured.

C'mon guys, get your shit together. I can't believe how terrible we look up the back. Incredibly frustrating to start the seasons defensively. Even more so because as fans we're not used to it being that way.

I'm naming my kid Diego Costa. Fuck it... He can have his last name too. The dude is pure magic.

Gomis is a really nice player... Just saying.

Gomis has been fantastic for them. We need to stop him and get the ball off him somehow. He draws so many of our players, and yet retains the ball. Pressure him and get in front of him. He is the centerpiece of their damn offense and is killing us just with his amazing hold up play. Costa is a machine though.

Hoping for a draw in the Arse-City game and for us to control the game and come out with a comfortable win. Would make my night and ease my mind a little with my mid semester exams right around the corner.

Costa is comfortably the third best player on the list. And I mean that as an absolute positive as Ibra and Suarez are top 5 undoubtedly. I don't know if some don't want to jinx on here, which is ridiculous in itself, but Costa is a superior player to Falcao and RVP. Take a look what this guy does leading a team as the front man. He takes out two all time great teams in Real Madrid and Barcelona to win the league, and not to mention he is 5 minutes away from being a champion of Europe against a mega team like Real with infinite cash... Can RVP or Falcao say that? No. Falcao is a good player, so is RVP, but some acting as if Costa has only been doing this for 3 games, and just for us are greatly mistaken. Neither of them have ever been as good as Costa last season, and it will simply become more apparent as the formalities of waiting for him to put a string of consistent seasons together before crowning him so. Same thing happens with all the great players. Just the formalities of paying respect to the players who have already done it in some sense. Costa has already put up a season better than RVP and Falcao could, and they sure as hell aren't getting any younger or better.

I remember getting a fair bit of shtick on here for suggesting he was absolutely terrible in some games for us, Seems as if he is almost getting the Torres treatment now that he is playing so poorly at Man United. Too much "the players around him are trash", and "he needs more help from his teammates" talk. The weird thing is, a lot of it is coming from here as well... lol. You make your own luck and results, and those around you can help, but at the end of the day, it is up to you. The truth about Mata is, he is a terrific passer and creator with so many glaring weaknesses and holes in his game. He is too small, too weak, too slow, has an average touch, doesn't track back, gets pushed off the ball, is inconsistent and far too often adds artificial value to the game, more so than actually impacting it. You can get a whole lot of average players to do what he does outside of his moments of brilliance, since he isn't someone you fear the whole game.

I'll just address this first... No he isn't. Costa is bigger, stronger, just as good in front of goal. Not to mention he's younger, and with him at the helm of a team, the team has been more successful than any team Falcao has led. As for Falcao and Man United, I think they will clearly be a force. There is too much current top level talent there to not be a great side. I personally think they'll destroy the smaller teams in the league with so much attacking prowess. They may struggle against the bigger sides getting caught out on counters and their defense lacking, but at the same time, they can shoot their way back into the game. I think some people on here are talking more in hope than their actual beliefs. Like us, they are a big team, and it's foolish to think they won't be back on top very soon. I'm sure there were United fans hoping the same thing when we went through our slump, but I'm sure most of them knew we'd be back. I say good. I hope they keep buying players, and we keep beating them. Keep beating this bought team.

He didn't seem to mind scoring with either of them. Right one was on point in the first minute, and the left one finished the game off for us.

He has instantly become my favourite player. Didn't take long. I love the fact he is no nonsense, and just goes out and gets it done, while being himself and not caring what others think on top of that. A lot are waiting on him to go crazy and snap or whatever, but I think he gets it enough to know how far he can and can't go. I think he knows EPL isn't La Liga, and certain things that fly over there won't go over here. Hoping he keeps this scoring up. Phenomenal player.

Why are people on here so pedantic and picky over how we are to think of and treat Mata? He played 82 league games for us... 82. To put things into perspective, Torres has played 102 for us, and despite being absolute trash for the most part, there are more defining moments with him that stick out than Mata during his time here. Both good and bad I guess, but still. Maybe some of you should stop acting as if you are the end all and be all on the decision in how we should view Mata. I, personally, like some other Chelsea fans, don't really care for him. He played 82 games here, so he really isn't some bona fide Chelsea legend like some are harping on about on here. He played some great football here, and made some great moments, no one is denying it, but in general, he was someone who didn't want to fight for his spot, and in the end, didn't deserve it. Willian, Hazard and now Cesc are all better players than him anyway, so selling him was the right move. And now he is off at a rival club, and seemingly very happy with all his tweets and talk, and I'm supposed to be a fan? He's not Lampard, he's not Drogba, etc. He's the guy that played here 82 league games, less than his previous club, and I'm supposed to admire and respect him because he's a polite Spaniard who says the right things in front of the camera and played some football here? Yeah, nah. He's a good footballer, with a lot of weaknesses, who does a good job standing out on a team where he can be the creator. I respect the fact he got us 38 mil despite not being as good as any of our current front players who start. He came in handy and I thank him for that. Everyone is allowed to have their opinion, whether you think justified or unjustified. No one has to have some vested interest in a player because you do or because you dictate they should based on certain principles. Rant over...

Another thing... It's great when the goals are going in, but Schurlle needs to learn to pass the ball. He is the only selfish player we have on the field, and really only looks out for himself at times, or at least it's what it looks like. I'm not sure if he doesn't have it in his game to throw some nifty passes around, but he needs to get better at it. It was extremely frustrating watching him at times.

We were very average today, but we got the win. Perfect result given the performance. This is the one big teams win. Everyone outside of Ivanovic and Hazard were poor or barely average. Matic did well for the second half of the game, as did Oscar in a few stretches. Willian for me was the best player on the field as soon as he stepped on. Costa had a Torres like game today, but unlike Torres, he didn't forget how to shoot, and stood up when his name was called. Another thing, is it me, or is Ivanovic flat out the best player in terms of winning balls in the air? Absolute beast. Fantastic game from him today. My MOTM along with Willian.