Jase

That's actually a real thing.

The players need to take responsibility for sure but this set piece issue has been happening since the start of Lampard's managerial career, no? Can't remember the exact number but think Derby conceded a lot from set pieces last season and the fact that this seems to be a trend with Lampard, the blame is more on him than the players.

Perhaps so but it would be nice if Lampard could explain a tad more than just say "He will get lots of opportunities. It's just my choice now because I have options" . I don't know if he doesn't want to do that knowing all the US attention is on him - Pulisic already has a lot of pressure from them to deal with and he doesn't need more - but having said what he has said, it has kinda just left us all wondering 'what the hell is going on?'.

Not saying Pulisic should stick up there and not drop back when he has to. Admittedly, he might not be as good as Willian in dribbling with the ball but he can still carry it from deep areas and if we have any sense of play at all, we can work around pressing or getting up the field through passing combination moves. It's just that Pulisic would provide more in the attacking third than Willian, in terms of making those off the ball runs, being more direct etc. And here's a little stat - Mount has more goals this season than Pulisic, Pedro and Willian combined (3 vs 0) but on the other hand, Pulisic has more assists than Mount, Pedro and Willian combined (2 vs 0).

Lovely...just watch him sign a new contract too! What a turnaround after being pushed to fringes by Sarri last season.

Lampard said James, CHO will be involved in this game, along with some others who haven't been playing much.

He's delusional if he thought we would hire him for the third time after what happened previously. But on the other hand, how many believed he would have returned anyway with the transfer ban and having to rely on young players? He was making excuses when talking about the academy during his second time here on Sky yesterday.

Pace, directness, off the ball runs, ability to beat players 1 v 1. You look at yesterday's team and barring Abraham and maybe Mount, everyone likes to come to the ball, likes to have the ball at their feet and go from there. There was hardly enough threat to take advantage of the space Liverpool were giving to us at back. We have seen glimpses of what Pulisic can do when he has space to operate in, notably against RB Salzburg in pre-season and Liverpool in the Super Cup. Now, I'm not saying we would have 100% drawn or won the game yesterday and I know our sub options got limited due to the injuries, but he would have given us something different upfront if he had come on. Moreover, he works hard, can press the opposition but the thing that's majorly holding him back right now is the physicality of the league, which he's struggled to cope with.

Our last 7 PL games vs Big Six: L 0-2 Arsenal L 0-6 Man City W 2-0 Tottenham L 0-2 Liverpool D 1-1 Man United L 0-4 Man United L 1-2 Liverpool

Considering we struggled to beat the likes of Sheffield United recently and have been conceding an average of 2 goals per game, don't be surprised if we struggle in those as well.

(1) It depends on whether Ruben can stay fit and have the stamina to play consecutive matches and (2) Ruben and Mount playing on the same side might not exactly work from a tactical POV, with both potentially occupying the same space going forward.

Feel like people are overstating our second half performance. A lot of it was down to Liverpool starting to tire and couldn't play with the same intensity from earlier.

Yeah but never expected Mount to suddenly play out wide. He was playing in the No.10 role earlier in the season.

Not sure why you went there when that wasn't even the point to begin with. In any case, I'd say Mount has the benefit of having worked with Lampard already for a season and wouldn't say Pulisic is bad at pressing either considering he came from a Dortmund side who adopts that approach. The major thing he needs to improve is his physical strength. Can you blame Mount? If he's being played on one side and Willian on the other, there's practically only Abraham up front to make those forwards. Everyone else want the ball at their feet.

Get used to it. Another case Sarri's Jorginho here.

A bit of Sarriball might be nice.

Chelsea 7-1 Grimsby Town PRE/POST-MATCH DISCUSSION, LIVE CHAT AND ANALYSIS 2019/20 Carabao Cup 3rd Round 25th September, Wednesday 2019 Stamford Bridge 19:45 Kick Off (UK time)

I expect better than them putting in half-hearted pressing or challenges. They are just flimsy and weak!

Waiting to see when Mount has a dip in form...

We never learn, do we?

Mount already looks to be Lampard's Jorginho...

Either that or like Mourinho's obsession with Ivanovic...

Our midfield is giving a major headache. Only Kante has any sense of defensive mindset and the rest are just awful in defensive situations. We almost have to compromise with our selections. If only we hadn't loaned Ampadu out...

Maybe he will? We have Lille in the Champions League after Brighton. A bit perplexed by Lampard's obsession with Willian so far and is Mount really gonna be a wide player now?