Closed PSG Vs Chelsea

[Bacika 188]

Asley Cole is fucking beast he was our best player when he came in.... Lukaku's first touch is shit shit shit...and ball control too...so he is nowhere near Torres and sturidge..that's why he is going on loan, and we will buy new striker...

[The Big Drog 1,110]

All in all I thought it was a good workout against a very talented PSG side. Defensively we looked more solid than we did against Seattle (not difficult) but still the first half performance from a defensive point of view was pretty unconvincing. Our attacking play wasn't hugely effective either. Hazard looked excellent on the ball and was our best player in the first half by quite some distance but he was let down by those around him. Kakuta looked out of place on the left wing, De Bruyne didn't have much of an impact on the right wing and Lukaku looked completely lost against opposition of this calibre. Mikel was pretty solid defensively and was a physical presence in midfield but we got the same old Mikel problem, the distribution wasn't quick enough and he failed to really link up the play, Lampard was ambitious but ineffective.

Second half was much better, partly thanks to the changes giving us a more balanced side and also partly thanks to PSG's substitutions. Essien played very well, adding drive and urgency to the play and pushing the team forward. Malouda was effective in linking up with Cole on the left flank, they looked very dangerous. Marin looked good playing a central position, although he isn't likely to get the chance to play there much next season, his direct dribbling was important in putting PSG on the backfoot. Piazon looked a far better option up front than Lukaku, his movement, his willingness to receive the ball into feet, his positivity, all led to the goal.

My pick for man of the match though is Ramires. Browsing through the thread and he has barely merited a mention, he was excellent. A real threat with his pace on the flank, used the ball quite well, really did well to help out the young right back and even occasionally tucked in to help out the central midfielders. It was an all action display from the Brazilian, I wasn't the least bit surprised that it was he who created the goal. A terrific option to have for the upcoming season.

I think that what the first half confirmed is that while Hazard is an immense talent, he cant do it alone. If we are to play a quick, short, passing game then he needs those around him to be able to play the same way. Mata can do this. Torres will provide a better focal point to that kind of attack than Lukaku. Maybe we can put Mikel's plodding style on the ball down to a lack of fitness and we can hope that it improves when the serious stuff starts, personally Id still rather Romeu. But it also confirmed to me that we need as many technically gifted players in the side that we can get if this is to work which is why I think Oscar is an important signing to seal. If we are going to make a serious go of making this system work then we have to give it the best possible opportunity and the way to do that is by signing the best players of that type available.

[Duppy Conqueror 1,451]

can`t quote posts at the mo .

anyway Magic Lamps, if you look at my post where i said about Marin "in that aspect i see shades of Zola" that actually means just a lil bit of Zola about him for the reasons i stated in my post. i never mentioned each players speed or trickery on the ball. i was merely talking about the things i said in that post. the way they move around always looking for gaps and how they both take unpredictable angles and the fact that despite their small size they are happy to take on the big boys.

also you may have seen more of Marin than i have. but i really don`t need a lesson on what Zola could do honestly. i was 20 when he arrived and a season ticket holder going home and away throughout his 7 year stay.

[jmarlow 458]

Okay, so intelligent is a matter of perspective. Josh and Hazard play in different position that require them to play different types of passes. Josh is required to, first and foremost keep possession. A DM is not allowed to take many risks and the fact that Josh realizes this at such a young age is, imo, the main reason he was labeled as the next big thing. What I meant by he doesn't play the obvious pass, is that he has the composure to keep the ball under pressure and wait for a team mate to find some space, even if it is a side way pass. What is not a matter of perspective, however, is that Josh had 90+% pass accuracy while Eden probably had less than 60%.

Josh realizes at a young age not to take risks!!! And that impresses you haha! That's the thing he is scared to play more riskier forward passes! Which Mikel, Essein, Lampard and Meireles always make! Josh is happy to play the safe passes so he doesn't lose the ball! But what he should be doing is looking to get the ball forward to the wide men or the AM! Mikel was always looking for Hazard and even when Hazard had players around him Mikel still played the ball to him because he is confident in his passing ability and is confident in Hazards ability! That is what I want to see from the DM being able to play forward passes into the creative players not just pass it sideways and backwards all the time!

[Ankit 3,176]

Couldnt see the match. Any extended HLs? Thanks.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Josh realizes at a young age not to take risks!!! And that impresses you haha! That's the thing he is scared to play more riskier forward passes! Which Mikel, Essein, Lampard and Meireles always make! Josh is happy to play the safe passes so he doesn't lose the ball! But what he should be doing is looking to get the ball forward to the wide men or the AM! Mikel was always looking for Hazard and even when Hazard had players around him Mikel still played the ball to him because he is confident in his passing ability and is confident in Hazards ability! That is what I want to see from the DM being able to play forward passes into the creative players not just pass it sideways and backwards all the time!

Yes and in the first half when Mikel and Hazard were playing we created nothing because the passes either didn't reach the front four or even if it did reach Hazard he, more often than not, lost the ball due to the pressure. Because we lost the ball in the middle of the park we looked likely to concede with every PSG attack because the defense was caught out. As result we created absolutely nothing in the first half and could have conceded 3 or 4 goals.

On the other hand, in the second half when the midfield was more composed on the ball and passed the ball around before looking to go forward, we completely controlled the game. The "scared" passing managed to break PSG's high pressure which we were struggling with in the first half; thus we were able to create much more chances. Moreover, since we played safe passes in the middle we only lost the ball high up the pich, so when PSG attacked, our defense was in position to stop them which is evident in the fact that PSG only had 2 shots on target in the second half. As a result we created numerous chances and were much solid at the back.

I'm not saying that the change in the passing "tactics" is the only reason we did better in the second half, but it definitely had a massive effect.

[Hutcho 8,443]

TBH the inclusion of ashley cole, made a huge difference as on that left we always had a man on the overlap and it just creates much more space for everyone else. He was probably imo the player who changed things most. Paulo Ferreria to ashley cole. Marin was also very good, with his pace, and malouda was much better than he has been in recent times. Though we should also not forget that they made 9 changes after the first half. Proves that we have greater squad depth than them, even if the players still have some work to do to gel better together.

[Melanicus 5,208]

Downloads are available

[jmarlow 458]

Yes and in the first half when Mikel and Hazard were playing we created nothing because the passes either didn't reach the front four or even if it did reach Hazard he, more often than not, lost the ball due to the pressure. Because we lost the ball in the middle of the park we looked likely to concede with every PSG attack because the defense was caught out. As result we created absolutely nothing in the first half and could have conceded 3 or 4 goals.

On the other hand, in the second half when the midfield was more composed on the ball and passed the ball around before looking to go forward, we completely controlled the game. The "scared" passing managed to break PSG's high pressure which we were struggling with in the first half; thus we were able to create much more chances. Moreover, since we played safe passes in the middle we only lost the ball high up the pitch, so when PSG attacked, our defense was in position to stop them which is evident in the fact that PSG only had 2 shots on target in the second half. As a result we created numerous chances and were much solid at the back.

I'm not saying that the change in the passing "tactics" is the only reason we did better in the second half, but it definitely had a massive effect.

Really haha! First of all let's clear one thing up, first half we had a weaker team out and PSG had a stronger team out 2nd half we had a stronger team out and PSG had a much weaker team that is the main reason why we dominated the 2nd half not because of your reason of we were more composed on the ball ect! What a load of rubbish! We were chasing the game in the 2nd half and were trying to keep playing forward (except for Josh who just played sideways and backwards) and PSG had something to defend so it was easy for us to dominate them as they had no outlet and no one to hold the ball up! Like us in the 1st half!

Essein came on and started playing the ball forward and out to the wingers! Ashley was getting forward and linking up with Malouda! Marin was drifting around and creating! Ramires was causing them problems and Piazon was making runs and linking up with the midfielders and josh was doing his simple passes sideways and backwards,

So please don't try and make out that we dominated the 2nd half because everyone played like Mceachran composed and simple passes! When in actual fact we were trying to pass the ball quicker and get forward quicker! Something which Mikel and Hazard was trying to do in the 1st half but didn't have enough quality around them for it to work!

At the end of the day for Josh to succeed he needs to watch the likes of Busquets, Mikel, Carrick, Lampard, Y.Toure and Pirlo and see the type of passes they make from deep! He needs to stop always going for the easy option and try to make more positive forward passes! The DM role has changed now and to succeed in that role you have to be able to pull the strings from deep by feeding the ball into the forward players so they can receive the ball early and in space which would give the likes of Hazard, Marin and Mata time to turn and create chances! With Josh playing behind them they are not going to get them sort of passes off of him!

[Madmax 9,219]

PSG were no Douchez. Luckily Piazon nipped in to save our blushes by pinching Areola. New Pastores await.

[Eggman 118]

Euhm... Nobody seems to consider that the problems of Chelsea might be due to RDM and his lack of tactics and vision for the team? The solution for problems seems to be: buy a new star player and put him on the field. That is somewhat like the MLS All Stars team: throw a bunch of good players together and expect chances to be created depending on individual flashes of class. And indeed, with Marin, Hazard, Mata, and a good striker (Falcao!) that would probably suffice when playing 90% of the teams. But when facing decent opposition, it might actually help to have an offensive tactical plan also.

[Eggman 118]

lukaku needs to go on loan. He has power, pace, and killer instinct, but really needs to develop better overal technical skills. The good big, strong strikers generally have good ball control as well (like Anelka, Adebayor, Hulk,...). Without this, he will never be good enough for the absolute top.

[BlueSanti 290]

Do not forget Lukaku hasn't been playing constantly for almost a year.

[Term-X 7,891]

Do not forget Lukaku hasn't been playing constantly for almost a year.

That doesn't excuse the qualms, his first touch etc, that comes down to natural ability.

[chelsea_4_eva 1,144]

instead of playing lukaku, why don't RDM try giving patrick bamford a chance. I hope he plays on our next friendly.

[Stats 6,987]

instead of playing lukaku, why don't RDM try giving patrick bamford a chance. I hope he plays on our next friendly.

Just no, he has gone home, he played some decent games in reserves but is no way near the first team and still needs devloping and Torres should be back for game against all stars

[chelsea_4_eva 1,144]

Just no, he has gone home, he played some decent games in reserves but is no way near the first team and still needs devloping and Torres should be back for game against all stars

wait..he went home?

[Stats 6,987]

wait..he went home?

Yeah, him, Saville and Toddy back home because of expected arrival of Torres and co I guess. I guess a bit harsh that Bamford travelled and did not play but still good experience training with first team I guess