Closed Chelsea 1 - 4 Atletico Madrid

[Danelka 209]

Two weeks. Next match is QPR away on the 15th of this month.

And with this improved QPR, unfortunately that won't be an easy pie.

[Jase 43,479]

And with this improved QPR, unfortunately that won't be an easy pie.

Just watch Bosingwa putting in the best performance of his life against us.

[Justin_3d 1,140]

The biggest bummer for me is that we now have to wait an entire week before our next game. Ideally I would have liked to see us play again ins 3-4 days.

Instead, we'll carry this for a while now. A game that quick would have forced Di Matteo to make some changes (Azpilicueta, Moses, Oscar in. Ivanovic, Ramires, Lampard out) whereas now I have my doubts on whether they will happen.

My biggest concern going into this season, and still remains to be Di Matteo himself. His tactics yesterday were poor, substitutions horrendous. Willing to let it go as a one-off but I'm still unconvinced (simply because he hasnt had a chance to show it yet) whether he will be willing to make hard decisions if they prove to be necessary. Also I'm sick of seeing Ramires at RW jfc

Poor sub cause the game was lost and not many people cared.

Simple as that.

But as far as judging RDM, people are coming with these "I have these doubts from the beginning"....well everyone have doubts from the beginning!

It was the same shit when Mourinho first came.

Just wait at least half of the season before materializing those concerns.

[Rowan_Osborn 58]

But as far as judging RDM, people are coming with these "I have these doubts from the beginning"....well everyone have doubts from the beginning!

It was the same shit when Mourinho first came.

Just wait at least half of the season before materializing those concerns.

Even SAF took a couple of seasons to settle at united and the fans wanted him out in the third. Can you imagine of they had got rid of him in 1989. I still reckon we should of kept Carlo though.

[Ankit 3,176]

[capriccioso 2,545]

Just watch Bosingwa putting in the best performance of his life against us.

You've been reading from my book.

Bos-man will probably score a brace and keep our wingers in his pocket all by himself.

[xPetrCechx 13,571]

Just hope he will learn from his mistakes...

[Justin_3d 1,140]

Even SAF took a couple of seasons to settle at united and the fans wanted him out in the third. Can you imagine of they had got rid of him in 1989. I still reckon we should of kept Carlo though.

Well it's also base on the manager.

Cause if we would have used that same excuse for Scolari, Avram, and AVB.....

RDM so far has more quality then all these 3 managers.

Has more potential.

Surely at the moment he is not good as a Carlo, Hiddink or Mourinho, but so far he has done good.....well if you care about form in meaningless pre-season and meaningless cup then he has done bad.

But for me, RDM has done no evil.

[edetarod 2,155]

Well it's also base on the manager.

Cause if we would have used that same excuse for Scolari, Avram, and AVB.....

RDM so far has more quality then all these 3 managers.

Has more potential.

Surely at the moment he is not good as a Carlo, Hiddink or Mourinho, but so far he has done good.....well if you care about form in meaningless pre-season and meaningless cup then he has done bad.

But for me, RDM has done no evil.

oh FFS, don't post nonesense like that!

it's a European trophy FFS!

RDM said himself before the game that he would take it seriously, he just got his tactics wrong...very wrong.

[Justin_3d 1,140]

oh FFS, don't post nonesense like that!

it's a European trophy FFS!

RDM said himself before the game that he would take it seriously, he just got his tactics wrong...very wrong.

You can go with your FFS somewhere else, cause I don't care!

[diskoviolente 425]

It was difficult to see what we were trying there last night. If we have had a gameplan against Atletico, I am not sure what it was, and in case we had one, it went out of the window after the first 15 crucial minutes. We always start slowely and not firing away, but it was very hard to come back into this after 2:0 down. From then on it was game over. We simpley had no answer to their counter attacking style. We didn´t want to sit as deep as against Barca or Bayern for a reason (change of style et al).

Two main problems for me in the team selection:

- Lampard and Mikel don´t work as our midfield dynamo, they don´t add to each others game. With Lampard feeling his legs it is obvious that Mikel has to venture forward, which he did and did good on occasions (did I spot a Mikel dribble there, btw ? ). The remaining problem is Lampard. If he wants to finish his carreer at Chelsea he has to accept that his role has to be reduced. For his own sake, he should just stay out of some games, Atleticos midfield runs basicially let Lamps chasing shadows, he doesn´t have the physique anymore. Mikel can´t make up for that, because he is the only cover for our centre halves. I think Mereiles and Mikel looked pretty good together. Raul is less talented compard to Lampard, but he is still a "pass and move" player, something we need in that position.

- Ramires obviously is not a RW. That leaves us with the problem, what to do with him ? I think the sane people would agree that he is one of the reasons why we finished the season as we did. Mata and him were our players of the year, I think. With all our midfield wizards, I am not sure how to fit in Ramires into it as he is a player suited to the old 4-3-3 havoc causing power block that we were in our best seasons. I think that players like him and Moses (who could play as a target man as well, in my opinion) are best used to give variety to our tactics. Our Plan B, so to speak. Maybe Ramires could play in a Essien role for as, as he has the physique and and the pace. That is what I think.

[termninja 5,290]

Can't really find lots of things Roberto did wrong except perhaps putting Mata there when we all know he is burnt out.

He put out a strong team aiming to win the trophy.

What are we supposed to do, come out as European Champions and defend against a lesser opponent while having players like Hazard and Mata? That's the wrong mindset and guess what? We can't start playing free flowing attacking football like Real Madrid after only a couple of matches.

It was also a massive risk to attack Atletico in the 2nd 45 with our full force since they were so lethal on counter attacks and players felt that too. They were afraid of losing the ball which of course resulted in them doing it. Oscar introduction didn't really do a lot and you can't expect him to change the game when he is new to the club.

I hoped to see Sturridge start last night and to see Moses get a run but sadly it didn't happen. Besides that, not much I can say, players were the ones that didn't do their job. They lost faith, confidence and pressure ate them alive in the end. You could see it on their faces when camera would zoom in, they looked to lost in their thoughts and weren't really there.

[chelseathebest 150]

Don't know what to say. Was embarrassed watching the game.

From the very beginning it was clear our players did not want to be there, at least most of them.

Their approach towards the game was shameful and unacceptable. We looked like we had 3 players less than them all over the match.

RDM should also take his responsibility for this. Don't know what was he thinking after the first half, why hadn't he made some subs (I don't count Oscar because, although he performed well, it was a joke of a sub)

That was truly shameful performance, probably the worst in years. And I don't think that was meaningless match, not at all. IMO that was a must-win.

It is a privilege to play European Super Cup. And as a fan, I am really dissapointed.

The club should really consider paying travels to fans who came there to support us.

[Rowan_Osborn 58]

RDM so far has more quality then all these 3 managers.

Has more potential.

Surely at the moment he is not good as a Carlo, Hiddink or Mourinho, but so far he has done good.

But for me, RDM has done no evil.

I agree, RDM shows huge potential. He ha shown us he can set a team up to defend as he did against Barca and Bayern and also to attack like he did for the second leg versus Napoli

[calculatingInfinity 1,472]

It was a terrible match on all fronts and it showed the value of having a striker on top of his game (no I am not blaming Torres for yesterday, he had nothing to work with, but Falcao is just a different level than we have ever seen Torres on here) and a motivated team. But there's no need to panic just yet, all teams has off days and while there's no doubt things that needs to be worked on it's not the end of the world to lose this.

[DYC. 7,542]

Well it's also base on the manager.

Cause if we would have used that same excuse for Scolari, Avram, and AVB.....

RDM so far has more quality then all these 3 managers.

Has more potential.

Surely at the moment he is not good as a Carlo, Hiddink or Mourinho, but so far he has done good.....well if you care about form in meaningless pre-season and meaningless cup then he has done bad.

But for me, RDM has done no evil.

When did you become all rational?

[Justin_3d 1,140]

I remember when Sevilla beat Barcelona 3 to 0 in this super cup.

Nobody worries.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Well it was truly a terrible game on our part, there's no denying that. However, I don't think it deserves all this somewhat of an over-analysis.The team never showed up to the game, the defense was having an awful match, RDM got his tactics completely wrong, and almost no one in the team showed any desire especially after the second goal. I'm just glad it didn't happen in something like a CL or important PL match.

But at the end of the day, we got a couple of millions from the match, and no injuries. Would I have wanted us to win instead? Of course! But I honestly believe that the best we could do after a match like that is forget about it, move on, and try to compensate in the next match.

[xPetrCechx 13,571]

I remember when Sevilla beat Barcelona 3 to 0 in this super cup.

Nobody worries.

Because it's barca.

[Kieran. 6,317]

This match was a sobering reality check, but I'm not as bothered as some of you. We still have to find our best starting XI, and I'm pretty sure it doesn't include Ivanovic or Lampard.

Shocked at how Ivanovic has been playing, makes me wonder if missing the CL final did a number on him?