Jase

Liverpool v Chelsea: Roman Abramovich backs Jose Mourinho's plan to field 'B team' in Anfield showdown

Think it is rather clear that Mourinho doesn't like Liverpool but I do wonder given the current circumstances with us being 5 points behind and having 3 games left as well as the 2nd leg to come next week, would he help his buddy Rodgers to win the league so that Pellegrini does not...

That is obvious but one wonders, how offensive is it gonna be? That away goal rule means Mourinho is still gonna remain pretty cautious in his approach.

Did I just see that the FA are punishing Mourinho for 'complimenting' the referee..?

Have there been anything concrete that says we won't pay 30m for Shaw? Not saying that I agree that he's worth that amount now but wouldn't say it's a foregone conclusion just yet. There are still other factors that need to be taken into consideration. True but then again, is it even worth forking out 30m for a 18-year old LB when others can be got at just 1/3 of that price? If Shaw continues to play well and develop into a good/great player, then sooner or later, he will get that wages anyway. Also, for some, I believe that there are intangible 'reward' such as joining the club you love/support way better than getting tangible ones like wages and besides, Shaw doesn't seem like a person who always want big wages like some other players. I understand what you're saying but don't get why just because others don't seem to be complying by the rules, we have to follow their actions as well. We would basically be putting ourselves in a risky position to be punished heavily by the UEFA if we bust the bank and spend like nobody's business. And besides, let's not forget that City and PSG are currently under investigation of UEFA and we still do not know yet of their decision. Perhaps, that will tell us then how serious is this FFP being enforced.

Same thing being said. I'll just re-post my point...

Thing is though, there is the FFP now and crucially, a more pressing concern within the squad to spend 30m elsewhere than on a LB..

Pretty valid points made by most in this thread but think the manager also dictates the level of hatred in this case as I remember, at least amongst the media, we don't seem to be THAT hated when Ancelotti, Benitez etc was the managing us..

This situation will, I guess, tells us how much he's a proper Chelsea fan.....

Manchester United set to beat Chelsea in £30m deal for Luke Shaw United are apparently offering £100,000 p/w wages on a five-year contract and Shaw is tempted by it...

The point is, had Torres busted his gut to get forward quickly, he would have given Ramires a proper option to pass the ball to but because he didn't, Ramires the brainfarted with his use of the ball. You can see Torres was almost half jogging into that huge space in front of him rather than looking to get there quickly and/or at least put himself in a good position. And I don't think it's about positioning here but rather just switching the brain on and getting there!

I obviously didn't mean he has to get into the box and offside position! Let's not forget that Ramires was ahead of Torres with his run down the right and he had an Atletico player on him while Torres was behind the play and even behind the Atletico defender that was near him, if not at least leveled.

Don't think what Mourinho said there is anything dodgy or has wrong with it, unless you take it out of context. He said what he said because he's furious that we have to play Liverpool on Sunday and not Saturday or even Friday when our 2nd leg is next Wednesday. http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/apr/23/jose-mourinho-chelsea-liverpool-abramovich

True. I don't deny that there was hardly any service given to him and his drive to take on players with the dribbling helped to bring us up the pitch but there were also times when he did do that, support arrived in 2-3 players and he could have passed it. Instead, he was too keen to do everything by himself. It was good that he look to dribbled past players, taking them on to give us some attacking impetus but I was just faulting his decision making on some occasions. Not sure what you were watching there. Torres was moving slowly and not busting his gut to get into the penalty box to put himself in a good position and let Ramires pick him out with a pass/cross. Any 'proper' ST would create chances for themselves by getting into good positions for their teammates to pick out and make it easy for them to create for their ST. Ramires was charging with the ball down the right side and Torres was only seen to be nearly jogging into the box making him practically behind the ball rather than level or even ahead of it.

Two stats... 1. Chelsea become only the 4th team this season to avoid defeat at the Vicente Calderon (after Barcelona, Sevilla and Real Madrid). 2. Chelsea are the first team to stop Atletico Madrid from scoring in the Champions League this season.

Not exactly the best of news to be losing key players to injury at this point of the season. *sigh*

Not really. Too keen to dribble with the ball when at times he should have passed it and also, remember that one counter attack we had in the first half with Ramires charging down the right flank? Any striker would be busting their gut to get into the box and provide option to receive the pass but instead, Torres was only half jogging into the box before Ramires (annoyingly) blazed it over the goal.

Stop-start game and decent performance. Content with the draw but not quite when it's a 0-0 draw. All to play for next week. Eeek!

Liverpool v Chelsea PRE-MATCH DISCUSSION AND LIVE CHAT English Premier League 27th April, Sunday, 2014 Anfield 14:05 Kick Off (UK time)

Liverpool 0-2 Chelsea POST-MATCH DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS English Premier League 27th April, Sunday, 2014 Anfield 14:05 Kick Off (UK time)

Hmmmm...

We should also be thankful that Everton lost to Palace the other day. Otherwise, the situation would be even more dodgy than it is now.

Think Kieran's point is that Azpi is a better RB than Ivanovic going forward (both still defensively sound) and rather than playing the former at LB and stifling his ability to go forward/cause damage in the final third, why not play him in his natural position at RB where he can do damage? After all, it's not like Ivanovic has exactly shone going forward at RB and doubt playing him at LB will make much of a difference compare to if Azpi were to be played at the RB.

Maybe so especially when he's probably nowhere near 100% fit. Atletico won't compromise one bit in their challenges.

That is not completely wrong but would have like to think that if Mata was still playing under Mourinho, he wouldn't be THAT weak to be musceld off the ball so easily. Would have gone through proper physical training to improve his body strength. It's staggering that since he went to United, you don't really see him putting that kind of same defensive effort that he did while he was still here (as he got better) at United. Goodness knows what Moyes does with him (and the team as a whole). P.S It's also a bit funny that Mata now finds himself at a club where the manager gets huge pressure and facing the sack etc, again.