Jype

Wow, didn't see that one coming.

Spurs Checked the score at 80mins when I got home and didn't even bother turning on the tv with them 3-0 up.

Think Haaland will end up at Man City. They definitely need a new top striker with Agüero turning 33 next year. Man City are also his dad's former club if that means anything.

Alonso was never good enough to play in a back-4 which was the system of choice under Sarri when he signed his current contract. That was an obvious mistake that could be spotted from a mile away. Jorginho on the other hand is a very useful player in the right setup but he needs a functioning team around him or he'll look bad. That said, he has more than enough time in his current deal so any extension talk should be postponed till at least next spring. If, like I'm assuming, Frank's plan is to play a 4-2-3-1 and have Jorginho as one of the deeper midfields alongside Kante it's crucial to see how he does in that role for an extended period of time before even thinking about handing him a new deal. It's really crazy to think that just a few months ago (at the restart) he was totally frozen out of the team and during the transfer window the club tried to move him on but now he's all of a sudden a key player again.

Werner and Havertz both on the scoresheet today.

https://streamja.com/l296d Ziyech's assist for the 3-0 goal. His set piece deliveries are a joy to watch.

Because they have another game on Tuesday and are probably hoping he's fit to play then. Would be good if he can get some match fitness before returning but only if he's actually fit and there's no risk of aggravating the knee injury further.

Could be sooner rather than later. Some reports of Mendy getting injured on international duty...

When Ziyech is back as well I'd hope for CHO-Werner-Ziyech as the front three if Pulisic is out. Callum is at his best on the left wing anyway and less effective on the right. Not sure Lampard sees it that way though.

With Pulisic taking back the LW position after the international break I'm sure Timo will play up front most games. And Havertz will play behind him to get the best out of both players.

What a guy. Comes up with historically bad performances and then has the nerve to criticize his manager for losing faith in him. He's received more than a fair share of opportunities to turn things around and he's fucked up all of them. Only reason he's even gotten a sniff since January is because of the price tag but on his own merits he should've been second choice behind Caballero for a long time, and now third choice after Mendy/Willy. It's good if he performs for Spain because it will keep up his reputation in his home country and maybe eventually some Spanish club will take him.

Tested negative for covid, will join the Germany team for the next two games.

The first one is a wonderfully taken goal too: https://streamja.com/ew7yN

Two assists today for Havertz: 1-0 Draxler: https://streamja.com/jnQ3O 2-0 Neuhaus: https://streamja.com/oPQZQ

In those stats Rice looks really good compared to the others. Soumare seems really average, he gets absolutely destroyed by Rice in some of the most important metrics (recoveries, tackles, aerial duels, clearances, interceptions). The new DMF needs to be great at defending, if we're happy with someone who's better at the more offensive aspects we might as well stick with Jorginho. Even the TC favorite Zakaria doesn't score near as high, either in total stats or p/90min. And he has a couple years more development than Rice (23 vs. 21). Camavinga is just 17 so it's kind of unfair to compare him to the rest of the group. I think he'll become a great player but he will have likes of PSG, Real Madrid after him too. Stats obviously don't tell the whole story but the way some people have been complaining is like Rice is a bang average player and there are much better options out there. The only 'complaint' about Rice for me is the price West Ham are demanding. He's on a long term contract so they have no need to sell but Zakaria could be available on the cheap next year if he doesn't renew (expiring 2022). I'd be happy with either of them (or Camavinga) but Soumare just seems like a second rate backup option.

Sure he's not young anymore and the injuries (even before the long term achilles problem) may have ruined a good amount of whatever potential he might have had when he was younger but if he can get some of his sharpness back I think he could still be a great asset even as a squad player / impact sub. I've always thought of RLC as a luxury player. His work rate, the back injuries etc. meant he was always unlikely to ever become a reliable key player in a title challenging squad and the achilles injury made things even more complicated for him but I still believe he can play a part, even if it's not as a starter. But that largely depends on whether he can recover some form and even then the player himself might not be happy with just a squad role and prefer to seek a more permanent future elsewhere. But for now he should focus on getting back to a level as good as possible at Fulham and then we'll see next year whether he can still return or not. I'll try to keep a close eye on Fulham whenever RLC plays to see how he does.

He's going to a side that's probable to go down. Playing for a side that could potentially be whipping boys isn't exactly beneficial. At the moment the absolute most important thing for RLC is to just play regular 90 minute games. It shouldn't matter whether his team wins or loses, for him it's all about getting back his match sharpness. Sure he could have gone to a lower league and play at a team that dominates games but if the main problem for him since his injury has been handling with the intensity of EPL football then playing at a lower level league is not exactly going to be beneficial for him either? And if the other alternative is to go and play EPL football for a team where he rarely starts then he might as well have stayed. And who knows maybe playing for a team like Fulham who are on the receiving end most games might actually help with the defensive side of his play and also improve his work-rate off the ball, which has been one of Ruben's main deficiencies. I see this as a great move for the player himself. It also helps that Fulham is so close to Chelsea that he can still easily keep regular contact with the squad & management at the club during his loan.

30m€ + add-ons is a silly price to pay for someone with only 24 minutes of Serie A football (or any pro level) under his belt. No matter how good he's looked in youth games the step up to senior football is huge. Either United see something incredibly special in that guy to commit that much money or they're in full panic mode and trying to get 'the next Sancho' type kid because they couldn't afford the real thing. Either way he'll only join next year so we won't be seeing him for a while.

Liverpool have been really, really lucky with injuries in the last two seasons. Their key players have hardly missed any games and their squad depth behind the first XI has been horrendous aside from maybe midfield. Now they're missing three players and a five goal loss is being justified because of it. I said in the summer and still stand by my opinion that Liverpool will suffer with the tighter fixture schedule. They've addressed some of their depth problems with the additions of Jota, Thiago and the Greek guy at LB but I don't think they're going to be anywhere as good as last year. Obviously they'll still be contending for the title and are maybe even favorites to win it, but it certainly won't be as easy as last season and with a bit of bad luck with injuries they could be in for some trouble. A lot of their squad (Minamino, Jones, Milner etc.) simply aren't top level players. Read somewhere they could be without Alisson in goal for 6 weeks, that's a big blow because Adrian is comically bad.

That mascot was the only likeable thing about Arsenal Football Club and they go on and sack him. In the meantime they're looking for further improvements in the squad and been offering tens of millions for Aouar, for example. Shameful club.

Yep, still needs some work to improve on his defending but it helps that he's at least very athletic and can recover on some of his mistakes.For a modern full-back who needs to participate equally in both attack and defense being fast is one of the most important qualities. Just look at Alphonso Davies, he's not the most reliable defender in 1v1 situations either but his pace and acceleration, among other qualities, make him one of the best LBs out there. With Alonso he's so slow that as soon as he's beaten by his man they're long gone so he can either stay back and try to defend or he can go forward and leave a huge space behind for the opponent to exploit. Lately Alonso hasn't been good in attack either and still shit defensively so his total effect on the team's play is very much negative. Jury is still out there for Chilwell at such a big price but the first impression is very good.

Watkins also missed a 1v1 against the keeper before Grealish second goal.

Too many whispers about this Bayern thing to be bullshit, something sure looks to be going on behind the scenes. Guess we'll know more tomorrow when the lineups are announced. If CHO doesn't even make the bench after being a key figure in the last league match and playing the full 90mins against Spurs in midweek he's as good as gone but if he's named in the 18 man squad I'd expect him to stay. So far Lampard has been quite clear on his selections and the likes of Rüdiger/Barkley/RLC stopped getting in the squad as soon as there was solid talk of them being on their way out. Like I said earlier today, if he forces a move to Bayern it's not about the playing time but rather his head's been turned by Bayern since last year. Signing the new contract made sense for him at the time because he was only coming back from a horrible injury and the new deal secured him a lucrative future no matter how his career turned out after the achilles surgery but now that Bayern want him again he seems desperate to go. Using the playing time as a reason to leave just seems a really poor excuse if he then forces a move to the club with probably the best winger setup in the world at the moment. Of course I couldn't really blame the guy for wanting to be the 3rd/4th choice winger at a treble winning Bayern team who win league titles and domestic cups by default if the alternative is to be 3rd/4th choice winger at a Chelsea team still in rebuild phase with no immediate success in sight. I'd rather keep him in the team because I think he's a really talented young player but if Callum himself is forcing a move I won't blame the club / Lamps for this. Of course there have been certain times over the last year when I think he could have started and for one reason or another didn't play but most of the time I think his handling has been quite fair. He still managed to get ~1500 mins last season despite missing 20 games through various injuries and having to be eased back in after recovering from said injuries. Last season he was quite rarely fully fit for consistent periods of time so considering that I'd say the club and Lampard backed him a lot for a 19yo guy, so if after all that he's still unhappy about something and wants to go then good riddance and I just hope the club can secure a good enough deal for his transfer and sort out a replacement (ie. Benrahma). But I still hope he stays and continues his development at Chelsea.

Probably not but at 21yo Mount should still develop a lot with more experience. He certainly doesn't have the vision and passing range of KDB (at the same age) but if he can improve his decision making in the final third I could see him maybe becoming a better goalscorer than KDB. Mount scored 14 league goals in 25 starts for Vitesse at 18/19yo. Obviously the Eredivisie is a much weaker league and in the EPL he doesn't have nearly the same time and space but with further development and a functioning team around him I could easily see Mount doing really well in the goalscoring department. Mount may not have the same amount of natural talent many (young) world class players do but his mentality is top notch and I really believe he'll surprise many in the next few years. I do agree with some of the 'critics' that Mount shouldn't play 90 mins every game, especially now with more quality options like Havertz in the team, and that Lampard has a bit of a blind spot for his favorite lad but writing him off and outright abusing him in the way many have is absolutely ridiculous. I don't think it's a coincidence that Mount has played his best football at Chelsea at the early stages of last season, following a full pre-season, and then again after the COVID break when he had gotten some much needed rest after being run into the ground by playing too many games. Mount is a hardworking player and if his work levels and pressing drop due to being tired, he won't be of much use to the team. Lampard needs to recognize that and start giving Mount some rest every once in a while to make sure he's playing up to his best level most of the time. Stubbornly using him even when he's tired and out of form will only lead to more criticism and unneeded pressure on Mount (and Lampard himself).

Didn't Simon Johnson say last night CHO is not expected to go anywhere? He's played 225 minutes out of 270 possible in the last three games. Granted the full 90 min games were in the League Cup but he looks to be getting more game time now. Only game he didn't get any minutes so far was the Liverpool match in which the game plan got totally fucked with Christensen's red card. When the CL starts after international break there will be two games a week for pretty much the remainder of 2020 and depending on FA Cup / CL runs the tight schedule could continue well into 2021 so he'll get his chances, I'm sure of it. Some games he'll start and some he'll be a sub but I would still expect him to feature in most games even after Ziyech/Pulisic are back. No way he'd play more at Bayern behind Gnabry/Sane/Coman and if he still really wants to go there it's less about playing time and more about some other reason.