Jase

I know we haven't won at Old Trafford in a while but I didn't realize our recent record has been that bad, especially when compared to some of the other sides. So many of the United teams post-Fergie have been terrible and we haven't beaten them there once!

https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2020/10/27/chelsea-squad-for-champions-league-match-in-krasnodar Silva did not travel with the squad to Russia. Kepa still out. So academy keeper Karlo Ziger travelled in his place. Alonso will serve the last of his 3-match suspension. Lampard's presser at 5:30pm UK time today...

Of course but given the circumstances, hell will break loose if we don't win tomorrow.

A preview from Krasnodar's perspective... http://russianfootballnews.com/champions-league-preview-krasnodar-v-chelsea/ Looks like they have 12 players out, either through injury or illness, including their starting wingers and full backs. And their backline is apparently "almost painfully slow".

If we don't win tomorrow...

Just because the midfield may get pressed, it doesn't mean they can't or shouldn't play forward passes. We have played 4-2-3-1 countless of times under past managers and 3-4-3 in the past, both with just the two in midfield and I don't think it was as dysfunctional as it is now.

This article is about Kante but it also highlights our problem in midfield... https://theathletic.com/2161142/2020/10/26/ngolo-kante-chelsea-frank-lampard/?source=emp_shared_article

I don't have the passing map but you're kidding yourself if you think it's similar to without Fabregas back then when (a) Conte is known to instill patterns of play into his team, (b) Fabregas was not even favored initially by Conte and (c) we played some of our best football under Conte and Fabregas didn't even play in some of them (e.g. Fabregas not playing half of our 13-game winning run in 2016/17). The midfield back then was not perfect of course but passing forward or creativity wasn't really an issue compared to now. And in some ways, I guess we're seeing now the difference between a manager who really instills patterns of play into the team and one who doesn't really do that. One has a proper team structure while another doesn't.

Liverpool better not fuck this up!

Exactly and unless teams sit off us, our midfield doesn't control games, doesn't dominate games enough to allow our attacking players to shine properly.

Might be worth putting a bet on a Burnley win...

All set up nicely for Burnley to get their first win of the season this weekend...

TBF, West Brom's last 2 fixtures were much easier compared to their first 4 - Burnley and Brighton vs Leicester, Everton, Chelsea and Southampton. Burnley and Brighton are hardly sides that score many goals.

Uh oh...

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/10/26/antonio-rudiger-hopes-given-chance-resurrect-chelsea-career/

He wasn't going to say he's doing a shit job about his former teammate, is he? As it has been said multiple times, yes, Lampard needs time but he also doesn't have time. He needs results if he wants time. He's been here for like 15 months and god knows how many times we've pressed the reset button on what's he trying to do.

The midfield was so deep, one of the front 3 played deeper and there was barely any passing attempt from midfield to the front but the midfield is fine apparently...

The first sentence is an understatement. Had it been the other way round, the penalty would have been given immediately. Instead, no penalty was given, there was no VAR check, there were barely any TV replays until much later on and VAR checked the subsequent challenge from Silva (IIRC) on Rashford god knows how many times after that.

And people wonder why Jorginho gets criticized so much for his passing...

Playing the back 3 was fine. The main problem was we played to not lose the game. The average position of the team was basically split into two - the back 8 and 2 upfront. It was overly cautious, no one was taking any risks, players told to stay behind the ball as much as possible. We didn't play it like we did against Spurs last season for example, where we actually looked to control the game and attack the opposition despite the back 3 setup.

Seems a big contrast to Conte, who instilled passing patterns and attacking patterns when he brought in his back 3 here.