Jase

Pretty sure Lampard's main reason was James had been impressing and he decided to play him. Resting Azpi was the secondary reason - perhaps a diplomatic response of dropping him on the back of that 4-4 draw with Ajax. Azpi's defensive performances over the last 2 months or so have generally been fine, this after a bad start. But of course, no one said anything. One not so good performance and suddenly people are getting their pitchforks out again. People thought he would struggle against Sterling at the weekend but he kept him quiet and did a solid defensive job but no one said anything. Was Azpi really the worst last night? Could make a case for Zouma or Christensen. The biggest question/problem, if anything, is why did Lampard suddenly change the entire back 4 last night for a key game? They played like strangers instead of a unit, made worse by the fact that they got no defensive protection whatsoever from the midfield.

But compare to PSG, Bayern, Juventus and Barcelona, Atletico and Inter are somewhat more manageable, IMO. More "easier" teams lurking as group runners-up than winners.

But Azpi got benched against Palace? The problem is we don't have great full back options right now. Between Azpi, Emerson and Alonso, Azpi is still arguably the most dependable of the lot. Anyway, not sure why you singled out Azpi. If we perform the way we did in the last 2 CL games against Lille, we'll likely get KOed. The whole team needs to do better. Lampard needs to set up the team better.

While you're not exactly wrong, it looks much worse to finish 2nd in the group this season. GROUP WINNERS PSG Bayern Munich Man City Juventus Liverpool/Napoli/RB Salzburg Barcelona Leipzig/Zenit/Lyon GROUP RUNNERS-UP Real Madrid Spurs Shakhtar/Dinamo Zagreb/Atalanta Atletico/Leverkusen Liverpool/Napoli/RB Salzburg Inter/Dortmund Leipzig/Zenit/Lyon

One thing I noticed in the first half of yesterday's game was how often Pulisic and Willian swapped flanks. What's up with what? Almost every attack they were on different side!

Yeah. @Jim is aware of it and I think he has sorted it out.

Judging by your subsequent replies, I'm guessing you're basing that off on the Palace game. It was only one game though and it was against a defensive side anyway. I could equally point out the Watford game (Jorginho + Kovacic) and to an extent, the Newcastle & Brighton (Jorginho + Barkley) games where we totally bossed it and gave next to nothing away. In any case, I hope we go back to the pivot midfield for the upcoming games - whether Jorginho/Kovacic + Kante or Jorginho + Kovacic. The midfield 3 of Jorginho/Kovacic/Kante just don't do enough going forward and aren't too great as well defensively.

With the way we play, it feels like Kante is not really needed against the lesser sides, especially at home and that's something unthinkable months ago!

Don't be surprised if Roberto turns into peak Neuer on Saturday.

I know it's all ifs and buts, if only Barkley hadn't fucked that penalty against Valencia, we would have been through by now. A draw in the first group game would have set our path a lot easier.

True but our upcoming league games scream 'banana skin games'. The Villa one would be interesting. Think they have done reasonably well against the Big 6 this season, but just can't stop bottling it from advantageous position. Led 1-0 at Spurs but conceded 3 goals in last 15 minutes. Led 2-1 at 10-man Arsenal but conceded 2 goals in last 10 mins. Led 1-0 against Liverpool but conceded twice in last 5 mins.

No disrespect to Lille but if we can't beat them at home, then we don't deserve to go through.

This! I hope it was just a case of Lampard trying to solidify the midfield (not that it worked out great) and not him trying to shoehorn Jorginho/Kovacic/Kante into the starting XI for whatever reason.

As expected, Ajax get the win at Lille. Anyway, if we beat Lille in the final group game, we're through to the R16, regardless of what happens in Ajax v Valencia. A point against Lille would be enough if Ajax beat Valencia. Any other results and we'll be out!

Liverpool could get KOed from the CL early if they lose to Salzburg in the last game.

In the post-match interview with the club, Abraham said he's feeling much better, hoping the injury is just a bruise and nothing seriously. He'll have a scan tomorrow to determine the severity of it.

Should just ask Cech to do double duty!

But you won't put Ajax in the same bracket as Man City, Liverpool, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern now, would you?

People talk too much about us being a young team, TBH. Yes, we have a number of young players this season, more than any other time but there are still loads of experienced players in the squad. Obviously, I don't expect the team to be winning every game but we should be doing better than having basketball games like the ones against Ajax and Valencia. We've done well generally in the PL but in the Europe, that's becoming a bit of an issue if the last 2 games are anything to go by.