Barbara

are you kidding me Mourinho? Taking our best player off and keeping Mata? KILL ME!!!!!!

we need David Luiz desperately.... I said it before for a rotation purpose, but now I'm saying it for technical issues. This defense is a mess. Let's thank Ireland for Torres'ing that shot.

HAT-TRICK, HAT-TRICK, HAT-TRICK!!!

André Schürrle, marry me unlucky, kid, unlucky

can we have someone for Mata, pls? Not adding anything relevant to our attack. Bring Kevin on or Lampard.

FUCK YES ANDRÉ SCHÜRRLE

Definitely not the best or safest match from Cahill... I think he's reached his limit - that's how it works with squad players.

again another pass of great vision from Mikel to Torres... great through ball.

There's something wrong with our AMs positioning now... sometimes there are two of them in the left or in the right, one in the middle while the other winger is vacant. Azpili and Ivan are there to link up, but they don't have anyone to pass the ball. I'm all for them interchanging positions, but they have to be well distributed.

that was a foul on André...

Please, let's give credit where it's due. Mikel's pass was superb.

SHIRLEY!!!! THAT'S WHY I'VE SCREAMING FOR HIM TO START

I'd love for Terry to score for us on his bday. Our captain deserves it

in other news

@NishC300, did you see the referee disallowing an offside goal for ManUtd at OT? Or not realizing Anita used his arm to make a clearance just over the goal line? Just checking...

both injured

That might be my fave lineup in a very long time. I would have chosen the same except Ba for Torres. I wouldn't have Torres even in the bench (not because of his terrible display Wednesday, but because I don't think he suits such a physical opponent). But the AM trio is all I've asked for and while Ramires + Lampard is my fave pivot, I would stop playing Lamps twice a week, hence why I favor Mikel today. Too bad I'm involved in a post-match report and won't be able to post as much during the match And I'm SO happy Kev is the only AM in the bench. He needs those little vows of confidence from Mou. btw, who's the referee?

Substitutes v @stokecity: Schwarzer, Cole, Essien, Lampard, De Bruyne, Ba, Eto’o. #CFC De Bruyne

Team v @stokecity: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry ©, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Mikel; Hazard, Mata, Schurrle; Torres. #CFC ANDRÉ SHIRLEY!!!!!!

never said he wasn't a cheating cunt (the drugs have no relevance with football as he was an addicted, not someone that was trying to improve his physical abilities by drugging himself, I can't hold it against him). Still he's maybe the best footballer I've watched playing live. As a Brazilian and a Flamenguista I'd say Zico was better, but I know as much as my Galinho was a genius of his own kind, Dieguito was better. That's the same mistake people keep making about Suarez. He's a cunt, he doesn't seem mentally stable at some points during matches, but he's an extraordinaire striker and that's what I'm here to judge him from.

I'm a Brazilian and having positive words about an Argentinian from me is a rare occurrence, but my reaction to your post is only one: you have no idea what you're talking about or you don't understand bollocks about football. Choose your pick. (still he's not better than Pelé )

I don't think it's about selfishness or lack of confidence. It's style. He'll always favor a pass over a shot, which is understandable and not a problem, except in a few occasions where he should definitely go for the shot and he passes and drives me crazy He's Spanish... Spain these days is all about tiki taka, so I think any other Spaniard on his place would be inclined to do the same... it their culture

Yes, because let's be honest... Sneijder in 2010 played MUCH better than Ribery did in 2013. It's not even comparable. The thing is Bayern as a team is much better than Inter was. I don't even think Ribery was still that amazing... he was very good in a team that outstanding. Wesley was outstanding in a team that was very good. Huge difference imo. This award was much more creditable when it was done by FF Magazine. When FIFA proposed to unify both awards it automatically lost credibility because all the fucking politics that comes with FIFA started influencing. But ignoring this, this award has always been about individual talent and individual results in a calendar year. I read somewhere (although I didn't check the date) that Ronaldo has 31 goals scored this year, so let's update it. He has 28 goals only this season in official matches (38 if you add friendlies). Sum 32 goals from January to May and he's score 60 goals in this calendar year and people are still considering Ribery part of the equation... This isn't about anything else but individual accomplishments and talent and based on that Cristiano is miles ahead of anyone else. When Messi is on form, I think they're very close - but they have completely different styles - and as such it's up to each person to decide who they consider the best player. There are some things Messi is way better than Ronaldo, but Cris has a lot of aspects to his game that midget Messi doesn't, Cris is a much better athlete imo and my personal choice will always be Cris... I used to like Cris more even when he was a ManUtd player, but when he became a Blanco it was a non-brainer. So let's state it in one single line again. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 60 goals in official matches in 2013 (9 months). http://espnfc.com/player/_/id/22774/cristiano-ronaldo?cc=3888 and nitpicking the poll. The guy's name is Schweinsteiger

but I feel like Ivanovic is also not on his best. He's started alternating good matches and some bad. He's probably tired too... Didn't you feel he was really bad in some of the latest matches (I mix them so I can't precisely say which ones), while he was very, very solid at the start of the season?

you guys serious? Jason added the emote, so I guess he's not, but are you, Pizy? Mourinho knows he needs Luiz, Mourinho seems to like Luiz just fine (his style) and above all he knows Terry is no kid. I doubt they're forging an injury that doesn't exist, Luiz would have said something (maybe he did and I've missed it) if he was ready to play